President Barack Obama on Tuesday issued a disaster declaration and approved federal aid for wildfire-scorched Washington state, as the U.S. West Coast struggles with a near-record fire season that experts say will likely worsen in the coming weeks. The declaration allows federal aid to supplement state, tribal and local recovery efforts in parts of Washington that were affected by wildfires between July 9 and Aug. 5.
The order did not approve a request for individual assistance to affected homeowners in central Washington, a decision Governor Jay Inslee said he would appeal.
Last month, the state saw its largest wildfire in history when the Carlton Complex scorched some 251,000 acres east of the Cascade mountain range. About 350 dwellings were destroyed and some communities in the Methow Valley, home to about 10,000 people, were ravaged, fire crews said. About a dozen wildfires were burning in the state on Tuesday, the Northwest Interagency Coordination Center said.
The West Coast fire season, which runs from May to October, is on track to break records for both the number of blazes and acres burned, according to fire teams.
The worst part of the season is expected later this month, and in September, amid ongoing heat and a long-term drought in California, Oregon and Washington, said Carol Connolly, spokeswoman for the Northwest Interagency Coordination Center.
From Yahoo! News: https://news.yahoo.com/obama-signs-disaster-declaration-wildfire-scorched-washington-state-203706024.html