Great Seattle Fire anniversary sparks reminder of modern wildfire dangers

June 6 was the date of the tragic 1889 Great Seattle Fire that burned 25 blocks of Seattle’s downtown waterfront 136 years ago. With this current stretch of warmer weather and the ongoing dry conditions so far this year, could it happen again?

The Great Seattle Fire

On June 6, 1889, there were no precise weather records collected at that time, but that spring had been a warm and dry one. On the day of the Great Seattle Fire, an inadvertent spilled glue pot in a waterfront carpentry shop along what was named Railroad Ave [today’s Alaskan Way] started the historic Seattle fire.

On that warm afternoon, stiff winds coming off Elliott Bay helped fan the flames and spread the fire from one wooden structure and building to the next with ease. You can visit what’s left on the Seattle Underground Tour.

Seattle’s warm and dry conditions

So far this century, there have been a greater number of warm, dry springs and summers, including each year thus far this decade. Such dry conditions can elevate the threat of fast-spreading fires, particularly in neighborhoods where homes are quite close to each other.

Fortunately, newer Seattle structures have more fire-resistant building materials, and a state-of-the-art fire response community can help in stopping such rapidly spreading fires. Yet these kinds of fires can still happen, thanks to warm, dry, and breezy weather conditions. Similar conditions were witnessed in the LA fires early this year.

Already this spring, consider the wildfires that have erupted in the interior of central Canada, and the few early wildfires thus far in Washington this year.

Given Western Washington’s reputation of being a wet area, recent summers have started earlier and ended later, resulting in drier conditions. These environments have made it easier for wildfires to start. Just a few years ago, it was hard to fathom that Western Washington had more wildfires than Eastern Washington, according to the Washington State Department of Natural Resources.

Seattle’s summer weather outlook

Looking ahead, the latest seasonal weather outlook for Western Washington leading into September shows good odds stacked in favor of overall warmer-than-average temperatures, with precipitation during the driest time of the year at or below normal rainfall levels.

Much of the state is already abnormally dry, including all of Western Washington, with the Cascades west to near the I-5 corridor in moderate drought status. Parts of Western Washington are well behind average for rain so far this year, including Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA), more than 5 inches below average, and Everett, a whopping 10 inches below normal, or only 34 percent of average for the year thus far.

With drier, warmer weather in store, light fuels, like grasses, will be drying out soon, setting up the possibility for grass fires. It is important to keep burning materials inside vehicles and tighten up tow chains to avoid sparks from dragging lines in order to prevent roadside fire starts.

Can the Great Seattle Fire in 1889 happen again?

Neighborhoods can be at risk of wildfire when warm, dry, and windy conditions unfold, like what happened on the Seattle waterfront in 1889. Recall the Oakland Hills fire in October 1991, when a wind-whipped fire burned close to 3500 homes and apartments, killing 25 and injuring 150. Similar conditions were in place during August 2023 in the Spokane area, with more than 300 homes burned and two fatalities.

Another example was a number of wind-driven wildfires in Western Oregon during Labor Day Weekend near Medford, east of Eugene and Springfield, east of Salem, and in the Columbia Gorge, burning hundreds of homes in total.

That same weekend, here locally, the Sumner Grade fire near Bonney Lake occurred on a windy day, burning four homes and temporarily displacing hundreds of residents. Protecting neighborhoods against wildfires is critical.

What you can do to prevent wildfires

Now is the time to prepare and build wildfire defensible space around homes and businesses. Consider this effort a part of spring yard cleaning. Visit firewise.org for all the tips, such as moving firewood away from your home, trimming tree limbs to a height that is above your head, and cleaning roofs and gutters of debris.

Help Smokey Bear and his motto–Only You Can Prevent Wildfires–whether in urban or rural areas.

Ted Buehner is the KIRO Newsradio meteorologist. Follow him on X and Bluesky. Read more of his stories here.