Over 875k acres on fire across Washington

Jacob Nierenberg

Jacob Nierenberg Jun 21, 2025

Jan 12, 2018

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                <h1>Over 875k acres on fire across Washington</h1>
                <h2><p>By now you have heard about—maybe even seen or smelled—the wildfire crisis in Washington. Of particular concern is the Okanogan County blaze, which began about a week and a half ago and has since grown to become the largest wildfire in Washington state history. Due to a change</p></h2>
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               <p>By <a href="/author/jacob-nierenberg-crosscut-com/">Jacob Nierenberg</a></p> 
              <p><time datetime="2025-02-04T05:00:00-08:00">Jan 12, 2018</time></p>
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            <p>By now you have heard about—maybe even <a href="http://westseattleblog.com/2015/08/seeing-it-smelling-it-thats-a-large-smoke-cloud-over-our-area/?ref=avalancheghost.one">seen or smelled</a>—the wildfire crisis in Washington. Of particular concern is the Okanogan County blaze, which began about a week and a half ago and has since grown to become the largest wildfire in Washington state history. Due to a change in the winds, an enormous cloud of smoke has blown across the state, clouding the skies as far away as Portland. A <a href="http://kuow.org/post/more-875k-acres-burning-across-northwest?utm_source=Sightline%20Institute&utm_medium=web-email&utm_campaign=Sightline%20News%20Selections">KUOW report last Friday</a> estimated that over 875,000 acres were burning across the state, with more than 9,200 firefighters trying to stop the conflagration. In response to the fires, President Obama has declared a state of emergency and authorized FEMA relief efforts, which Governor Jay Inslee says will include emergency power generation and trauma counseling.</p>
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By now you have heard about—maybe even seen or smelled—the wildfire crisis in Washington. Of particular concern is the Okanogan County blaze, which began about a week and a half ago and has since grown to become the largest wildfire in Washington state history. Due to a change in the winds, an enormous cloud of smoke has blown across the state, clouding the skies as far away as Portland. A KUOW report last Friday estimated that over 875,000 acres were burning across the state, with more than 9,200 firefighters trying to stop the conflagration. In response to the fires, President Obama has declared a state of emergency and authorized FEMA relief efforts, which Governor Jay Inslee says will include emergency power generation and trauma counseling.

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By Jacob Nierenberg

Jacob Nierenberg is an editorial intern at Crosscut. He has lived in Washington for nearly all of his life, and still proudly identifies with the Pacific Northwest despite his relocation to Stanford U