SPOKANE, Wash. — A small brush fire broke out along I-90 near Medical Lake Tuesday evening, burning an acre of land and several trees between two roads. Fire crews responded to the fire at 3:30pm and closed the I 90 on-ramp while fighting the fire, stopping forward progression within an hour. The Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is investigating what sparked the fire.
While it is early spring, fire crews are asking people to be cautious when burning and stay aware of fire danger levels. Battalion Chief Alex Turner said fires this time of year are common because the region is in between the moisture and cool temperatures of winter and the rain of spring.
"We just haven't had the moisture to really get a lot of green to prevent some of these fires," Turner said.
That leaves the dead brush from winter dry and exposed, which easily burns as fire fuel. If the rest of spring brings more moisture, Turner said our fire danger will decrease again before the late summer fire season begins. But, Washington state is in a drought this year because of low snowpack and predictions of a dry, warm spring and summer.
"If we don't have moisture throughout the summer, regardless of how much snowpack we had, then we're still going to struggle with fires. So, it's going to be a lot dependent on what that moisture looks like through this drought," Turner said.
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