© 2025 Connecticut Public

FCC Public Inspection Files:
WEDH · WEDN · WEDW · WEDY
WEDW-FM · WNPR · WPKT · WRLI-FM
Public Files Contact · ATSC 3.0 FAQ
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Multiple Wildfires Devastate Large Swaths Of Areas In Eastern Washington

NOEL KING, HOST:

In Washington state, fires burned more land in a day than they normally burn in entire fire seasons. Here's Anna King from Northwest News Network.

ANNA KING: On Labor Day, several already serious fires made big runs. In Northeast Washington, the Cold Spring Fire ran some 60 miles, part of nearly 500 square miles that burned in a single day.

CRYSTAL RAYMOND: Basically, climate change is loading the dice. And then you get a wind event, and things are just ready to go.

A KING: Crystal Raymond is a research scientist with the University of Washington's Climate Impact Group. This year's wildfire season in the Northwest seemed pretty quiet until now, she says. It was a cool, wet spring and June, but Raymond says climate change makes wildfire seasons longer. Now northwest interagency fire center spokeswoman Carol Connolly says fire managers are reassessing where to put air support and crews.

CAROL CONNOLLY: They're going to look at resources that are currently assigned to large fires, how we can maybe move those, share those with the existing large fires to the new ones.

A KING: They'll come too late for the small town of Malden, Wash. Three fires converged on it on Labor Day. An hour later, about 80% of the town of 300 was lost. Shannon Thornton and her husband Shawn used to own a home there. Now it's just burnt up.

SHANNON THORNTON: But you know what? The good thing is is that my chickens survived. Their house is gone.

A KING: Some friends and neighbors gather around the wreckage, but they can't go through what's left because the ashes are still too hot. Extreme fire danger is forecast for the rest of the week in the northwest. For NPR News, I'm Anna King.

(SOUNDBITE OF FAIT'S "SURRENDER TO") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

Anna King calls Richland, Washington home and loves unearthing great stories about people in the Northwest. She reports for the Northwest News Network from a studio at Washington State University, Tri-Cities. She covers the Mid-Columbia region, from nuclear reactors to Mexican rodeos.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT is an initiative from Connecticut Public, the state’s local NPR and PBS station, to elevate Latino stories and expand programming that uplifts and informs our Latino communities. Visit CTPublic.org/latino for more stories and resources. For updates, sign up for the SOMOS CONNECTICUT newsletter at ctpublic.org/newsletters.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.