Wildfire season is back with a vengeance.
Spokane County has had 268 reported wildfires from 2025 up to July 2026, according to the Washington Department of Natural Resources. Washington’s 2025 fire season saw a surge in lightning strikes in the late summer and regional drought. The state recorded nearly 1,900 wildfire starts, but fire crews successfully contained 94% of fires on DNR lands under 10 acres.
In June, the Upriver Fire in June burned approximately 213 acres and destroyed or damaged 15 homes, killing one person. The latest as of this article’s publishing was a brush fire south of Liberty Lake reported July 19 that burned 11 acres. No structures were lost, though Level 3 (GO NOW!) evacuations were issued in the area at the time.
In April, the Washington Department of Ecology declared a drought for all watersheds in the state, “due to low snowpack and multiple years of precipitation deficits.” This is the state’s fourth drought declaration in a row with lack of snowpack and precipitation making for drier conditions that result in more natural fuel for wildfires.
The Spokane County Wildfire Mitigation Coalition tries to prepare for these newly dry conditions, which are becoming more frequent because of climate change, by thinning trees and removing excess brush and tinder to reduce wildfire risk.
“Grant money dictates what projects we are able to take on, but we try to get done as much as we can before July,” said Nick Jeffries, a wildland resource planner with the city of Spokane. “By July and August it’s usually too hot to work in the forest and areas with heavy vegetation. Too much risk of equipment starting a fire and doing more harm than good.”
The Coalition is composed of various organizations, including, but not limited to the Spokane City and Spokane Valley fire departments, the Spokane County Conservation District, Spokane County Parks, all 10 Spokane County fire districts, Inland Power & Light, Avista and the state Department of Natural Resources (DNR).
“We’ve got all sorts of good players in there,” Jeffries said. “Membership is on a voluntary basis and we all share resources.”
The Coalition also offers homeowners in Spokane County assistance through Home Ignition Zone assessments, Firewise programs and landowner referrals.
“A Home Ignition Zone is the area around a home and its surroundings, going out up to 200 feet,” Jeffries said. “Do you have a lot of brush and trees around your house? Are your gutters clean? Do you keep flammable objects like building supplies and hay for your animals close by? Taking those things out further from your home can really reduce your home's vulnerability to radiant heat and falling embers during a wildfire.”
In 2026 the Spokane Conservation District was awarded a $9.2 million grant from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service, specifically through the Community Wildfire Defense Grant program. The money has yet to be received so those funds were not able to be applied to prevention projects before the 2026 wildfire season, Jefries said.
The coalition cleared brush in three areas this year: Eagle Ridge HOA, Overlook at Qualchan and 10 acres near the River Run community. Assistance was also lent to a private thinning operation on 22 acres on the South Hill. These projects were either fully or partially funded by DNR, with some residents contributing private funds, Jeffries said.
Though clearing and thinning projects are over for the coalition this fire season, Jeffries stressed that it’s never too late for property owners to do home ignition zone work. He recalled the summer of 2023, which he referred to as, “One of the worst fire seasons ever in Spokane County.”
The two biggest fires in Eastern Washington that year, the Gray and Oregon fires, destroyed 369 homes and damaged another 447, burning more homes than any wildfire in Washington state history, according to a letter from former Governor Jay Inslee to former President Joe Biden. The two fires, which spread from August 18 to August 25, killed two people.
“It’s a hard fact that there is no amount of firefighting resources that will save your home if it is in the path of a catastrophic wildfire,” said Fire Chief Shane Stocking, of the South Pend Oreille Fire and Rescue District. “It’s unfortunate, but it’s something of a given now that these wildfires aren’t just an incident, they are a season. The best thing people can do is prepare their home.”
Located in southern Pend Oreille County, the district responded to the Gray and Oregon fires because of the shared border with Spokane County. The district often shares mutual aid with Spokane County Fire District 4.
“If you’re not sure what to do, call your local fire district, call us, and we’ll point you in the right direction,” Jeffries said.
Learn more about wildfire prevention at home and recreating here. To find your fire department/district in Spokane County, go here. To get public alerts and warning notifications including wildfires for Spokane County, sign up here.
Season of fire
Though the fire season has not intensified in Priest Lake, Bonner County, like it has in other places, it’s become an unsettling neighbor. The Upper Smith Fire that started in bordering Boundary County after a lightning strike July 8 has grown to over 1,000 acres on the Idaho Panhandle National Forest as of Thursday, July 23, and was reported at zero containment according to InciWeb. Smoke and ash from that fire and the Turner Hill Fire, also in Boundary County, have poured over into Bonner County.
“This is definitely the time of year when we keep the conversation going about emergency preparedness,” said Cameron LaCombe, Bonner County Emergency Management Preparedness Coordinator.
US Forest Service planes and helicopters were actively scooping water from Priest Lake and other waterways to drop on the Upper Smith Fire for several days. As of this publishing, there have only been two wildfires reported in Bonner County and both have been relatively small and were put out quickly, LaCombe said. One was in Oldtown, Idaho earlier this month when a man was using a Sawzall to cut car parts at his home and the sparks from the saw ignited a grassfire. LaCombe said the man’s neighbors noticed the smoke and called 911 and West Pend Oreille Fire District responded, quickly putting out the fire. Idaho Department of Lands responded to a small wildfire on Sundance Mountain and Soldier Creek near Priest Lake July 18, but it was quickly extinguished.
The worst wildfire to hit Bonner County since the Big Blowup of 1910 was almost 59 years ago. The Sundance Fire left scorched earth and two firefighters dead near Priest Lake September 1967. Caused by lightning strikes, the fire burned over 55,910 acres in nine hours, generating winds of 60 mph with gusts between 95-120 mph, according to news reports at the time. The blaze overtook firefighters Luther Rodarte and Lee Collins who died as they constructed a dozer line.
Priest Lake and the greater Bonner County area have had plenty of wildfires since then, but nothing on that scale.
“We have had no major wildfires in our county or district so far this year, and since I’m not sitting near any wood I’ll knock on my plastic chair,” said Tom Renzi, East Priest Lake Fire Protection District chief.
There are four primary fire districts protecting the Priest Lake area: West Priest Lake Fire District, Coolin-Cavanaugh Bay Fire Protection District, North of the Narrows Fire District, and East Priest Lake Fire Protection District. Including the lake and the area surrounding it, there are tens of thousands of acres, not counting the 523,000 acres of forested public lands.
The US Census Bureau estimates about 2,700 total households in the immediate area with a population of 6,913. The lake is a popular tourist destination in the summer. While there is no public data tracking the exact number of Spokane residents who own properties in Priest Lake, regional news reports indicate that a majority of the lake’s non-resident cabin and second home owners come from the Inland Northwest, especially Spokane.
“Priest Lake is a beautiful area, though on the flip side, if there is a significant fire event, and your home or vacation spot takes you north on Highway 57 to the east or west side of the lake, that’s your only way in and out,” LaCombe said. “Roads get narrow, cell service can be a challenge. If there’s ever a need for evacuation, that can be a concern.”
Echoing Jeffries’ viewpoint, West Priest Lake Fire District Chief Troy Gilbert said it’s never too late for people to prepare their homes for fire season and be prepared for possible evacuation.
“The thought can feel overwhelming, but if you’re unsure, the best thing you can do is call your fire district and let them help you find out where to start,” Gilbert said. “That’s the reason we’re here.”
Idaho residents looking for more information on wildfire prevention and preparedness, go here and check out the Bonner County Emergency Management page.
Sophia Mattice-Aldous is a Murrow News fellow working directly with newsrooms at The Newport Miner and RANGE Media through a program administered by Washington State University. Her reporting is available for use via Creative Commons with credit.
