WDFW Plans Controlled Burns for 10,000 acres in Eastern Washington

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife will be conducting controlled burns throughout Eastern Washington beginning in March.

Communications Manager for Eastern Washington Staci Lehman says two of those burns will place in the Colockum and Methow Wildlife Areas.

"They reduce the risk of larger wildfires that come through and burn out of control which poses a safety risk to the community obviously. They also improve habitat for animals that live in our wildlife areas such as deer, elk and bighorn sheep. They also clean the area up and make it more usable for people who are recreating."

In total, WDFW is planning on treating 10,000 acres at 10 different sites starting in March until the weather makes it impossible.

Lehman says determining when and where to burn will be weather dependent.

"Can't be too hot. Can't be too windy. You can burn in rain but not a downpour, things like that. The schedule is very much free floating, so it's hard to put a date on when we'll start and when we'll end. It is a daily process of getting up and monitoring the weather for the coming days and weeks."

Signs will be posted in the area where burns will happen and the WDFW will post on social media.

They plan on burning 500 acres in the Colockum Wildlife Area and about 250 in the Methow Wildlife Area.

More burns could be added, weather dependent.

Here's the full list of areas that will be treated.

• Sherman Creek Wildlife Area, 524 acres in Ferry County, 10 mile west of Kettle Falls
• Rustlers Gulch Wildlife Area, 523 acres in Pend Oreille County, 15 miles southwest of Newport
• Methow Wildlife Area, 248 acres in Okanogan County, 10 miles northeast of Winthrop
• Colockum Wildlife Area, 500 acres in Chelan County, 10 miles southeast of Wenatchee
• Oak Creek Wildlife Area, 120 acres in Yakima County, 15 miles west of Naches
• Grouse Flats Wildlife Area, 400 acres in Asotin County, 40 miles southwest of Clarkston
• L.T. Murray Widllife Area, 250 acres in Kittitas County, 12 miles south of Selah
• Oak Creek Wildlife Area, 226 acres in Yakima and Kittitas counties, 7 miles west of Naches