Washington state is heading into what could be one of its most active wildfire seasons in recent memory, according to state fire officials and national forecasters. The driver: an historically poor snowpack that has melted out roughly a month earlier than normal, leaving grasslands and timber fuels primed for ignition well ahead of schedule.

Snowpack Crisis Signals Early Season

"Our seasonal snowpack was really poor this year, one of the worst that we've had in a while," said Vaughn Cork, a fuels specialist with the Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR). "The lower the snowpack, the earlier the season tends to get going."

According to Drought.gov, snow drought is currently widespread across Washington, the result of an unusually warm winter that brought more rain than snow at elevation. Snowpack across the state remains far below normal, and melt-out has occurred approximately one month earlier than historical averages. On April 8, Governor Ferguson declared a statewide drought.

The Climate Prediction Center is forecasting that precipitation across the Northwest will remain below normal through May and June, offering little relief for fuels already drying ahead of summer.

DNR: June Could Be Problematic

Matthew Dehr, a DNR wildland fire meteorologist, said he is watching conditions closely as the season transitions. "I'm concerned that as we get into June, our fuels are already going to be receptive to fire starts. That might be problematic for months into the future," he said.

DNR is preparing for wildfires to potentially begin erupting in central and eastern Washington within the next few weeks — earlier than typical. Cork said current indicators suggest an above-normal fire season, drawing comparisons to 2015 and 2018 — two of the most destructive fire years in Washington's recorded history.

"That doesn't mean it's going to be as bad as 2015 was, which was the worst season we've had in Washington history," Cork cautioned. "But worse than normal. Worse than average."

Western Washington No Longer Immune

Fire experts warn that even western Washington — historically less vulnerable to wildfire — is seeing conditions change. "In Western Washington, you're seeing wildfires now where there weren't any before," said Riva Duncan, president of Grassroots Wildland Firefighters and a retired U.S. Forest Service officer. "It wasn't something that people worried about, but everything is connected."

The 2025 Bear Gulch Fire in the Olympic National Forest — which burned more than 20,000 acres — was cited as a stark example of fire expanding into historically fire-resistant landscapes.

Forest Service Prepares

The U.S. Forest Service acknowledged the early warning signs in a recent statement: "All of our predictive models point to a challenging summer," said Sarah Fisher, deputy chief for Fire and Aviation Management. "But we have an incredible workforce and an interagency system built to adapt and meet challenges head-on."

Residents across Washington are urged to sign up for emergency alerts through their county, create defensible space around their homes, and have a go-bag and evacuation plan ready before fire season peaks in July and August.