Fire danger skyrockets with heat wave this week

With a heat wave in the forecast this week, the hot weather is keeping fire departments across the state busy.

A Fire Weather Watch is in effect for King, Lewis, Pierce, Skagit, Snohomish and Whatcom counties from Tuesday afternoon through Thursday evening.

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Fire agencies are warning any dry brush can spark a fire.

Dry patches like those off the side of highways and roads are essentially tinderboxes, and with the heat expected this week and the dry period we've been having, agencies all over the state are paying attention.

A brush fire just off of I-5 near Lacey Sunday threatened to shut down the freeway.

The fire started with a vehicle fire in the center median and it quickly spread to the brush.

Such brush fires have escalated in the past two months, happening with more frequency since the current dry stretch.

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Meanwhile, east of the Cascades, crews are fighting the Glade Fire south of Yakima about 10 miles south of Mabton that started Sunday night. That’s burned 10,000 acres so far.

The diamond creek fire is burning in the Okanogan Forest.  It's burned more than 5,000 acres so far and is just 10 percent contained.

A wildfire is also burning in Snohomish County, near Darrington. At last check, the Suiattle Fire burned 20 acres.

In Eastern Washington, a Red Flag Warning is in effect for the Kittitas Valley, the Yakima Valley, the lower Columbia Basin and the foothills of the Blue Mountains.

A Red Flag warning means conditions are ideal for wildland fire combustion, and rapid spread.

Cox Media Group