Carlton Complex Fire

Carlton Complex Fire
A NASA satellite image of smoke plumes, July 18, 2014
Location	Okanogan County, Washington
Coordinates	48°12′40″N 120°06′11″W / 48.211°N 120.103°WCoordinates: 48°12′40″N 120°06′11″W / 48.211°N 120.103°W
Statistics
Date(s)	July 14, 2014 — August 7, 2014[1]
Burned area	253,377 acres (1,025.4 km^2)
Cause	Lightning
Buildings destroyed	300
Fatalities	1

The Carlton Complex Fire is the largest wildfire in the history of Washington state. It began on July 14, 2014 as four separate lightning-caused fires in the Methow Valley which merged into one by July 20 and burned over 250,000 acres (1,011.7 km²). The fire destroyed approximately 300 houses in and around the towns of Pateros and Malott, as well as rural Okanogan County.

Origin

The Carlton Complex fire consisted of four fires (the Stokes Fire, the Gold Hikes Fire, the French Creek Fire and the Cougar Flat fire) which were ignited by lightning strikes on July 14.^[2]

Due to hot weather and windy conditions, the fire grew significantly on July 17 and rapidly overtook the town of Pateros. Over the next few days, several evacuations were ordered, including the entire towns of Pateros and Malott, as well as portions of Brewster, Okanogan, Carlton and Methow.^[2]

Rain slowed the fire on July 24, allowing crews to reach 60% containment by July 26.^[3]

Aftermath

The Washington National Guard provides support to the people of North Central Washington who have been affected by the Carlton Complex Fire.

The Carlton Complex is the largest wildfire in Washington state's recorded history, surpassing the 1902 Yacolt Burn.^[4] The fire destroyed 322 homes as well as 149 other structures.^[5] One death is attributed to the fire: a man who suffered a heart attack while trying to protect his home.^[4]

On 24 August 2015, some media outlets inaccurately reported that the Okanogan Complex fire had become the largest wildfire in Washington state history, surpassing the Carlton Complex fire. However, at that time the Okanogan Complex fire still had not merged into a single fire, and so the Carlton Complex remains the state's largest single fire.^[6]

Fire suppression of the Carlton Complex fire cost the state at least $60 million, not including damaged property and infrastructure.^[5]

Over 170 homeowners have sued the state for damages, claiming the Washington Department of Natural Resources's response to the fire was negligent.^[7]

References

1. "Carlton Complex fire update (Aug. 7)". Methow Valley News. 2014-08-07. Archived from the original on 2015-07-22.
2. "Carlton Complex". InciWeb: Incident Information System. Retrieved 22 July 2015.
3. "Crews plan controlled burn near Carlton complex wildfire". The Seattle Times. 2014-07-26. Archived from the original on 2014-07-27.
4. O'Sullivan, Joseph (2014-07-21). "Firefighting crews hunker down for long haul". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on 2014-07-21.
5. McNiel, Michelle (2014-08-07). "Cost of fighting Carlton Complex hits $60 million; 322 homes destroyed". The Wenatchee World. Archived from the original on 2015-07-22.
6. Riggs, Dee (August 26, 2015). "Carlton Complex is still the largest, single fire in state history". The Wenatchee World. Retrieved August 26, 2015.
7. Inveen, Cooper (2015-03-17). "State’s largest wildfire disaster captures lawmakers' attention". North Kitsap Herald. Archived from the original on 2015-07-22.