‘This is the summer of climate change’: Gov. Inslee declares statewide drought emergency

Gov. Jay Inslee announced a statewide drought emergency declaration in a Wednesday press conference amid an already active fire season in Washington state.

Inslee made the announcement along with Department of Ecology director Laura Watson.

“This is the summer of climate change,” he said.

The declaration applies to all of the state except for the Tacoma, Seattle and Everett metro regions.

A drought emergency declaration means the water supply is projected to be below 75% of average, creating an undue hardship to users.

The declaration also allows the Department of Ecology to take emergency relief measures, including temporary transfers of water rights and funding assistance for public entities. The state declared drought emergencies in 2015 and 2019.

There are currently several active wildfires in the state, including a brush fire in Chelan County that is threatening homes and prompted evacuations.

>> Brush fire burning in Chelan County threatens homes, prompts evacuations

Vaugn Cork, a fire analyst for the state Department of Natural Resources, said this year is already looking worse than the 2020 fire season, when more than 800,000 acres burned.

There have been more than 630 wildfires reported so far this year, about double the normal rate. Of those, 164 fires have ignited on the western side of the state, leaving 466 in eastern Washington, DNR said.

“One little spark, one errant cigarette, one set of dragged chains along the highway can cause a 10,000 acre fire in a heartbeat,” Cork said.

Get more information from the Department of Ecology about the drought emergency declaration here.

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