NASA image: Pacific Northwest wildfires severe in intensity
The Pacific Northwest is abundantly dotted with wildfires in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana. There are over 27 fires listed in the Inciweb database for the state of Washington. The largest active fire listed is the Okanogan Complex Fire which is currently at 256,567 acres and has 1,250 personnel working the fire. This fire began as a lightning strike on August 15, 2015. It is only 10% contained at present. Governor Inslee's request for a federal Emergency Declaration to provide additional resources to cover some of the costs related to multiple wildfires burning in eastern Washington state was approved by President Obama's administration recently. Washington state has lost the most this firefighting season with the deaths of three U.S. Forest Service firefighters on August 19 as they were battling the Okanogan Complex Fire.