Washington DNR Conducts Prescribed Burns for First Time in 18 Years

(Olympia, WA) -- After nearly two decades, prescribed burns are back. The Washington State Department of Natural Resources burned over 100 acres of public land last week. It happened between Springdale and Loon Lake in Stevens County, and is just the second time Washington has performed a prescribed burn since 2004.

According to the DNR, wildfires have gotten worse over recent years due to a combination of climate change, invasive species and a century of fire suppression that allowed fuels to build up in our forests. The burns should help reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfires later in the year.