Wildfires in the US Northwest

Washinton, Montana, Oregon, Wyoming, and Idaho

Maura Timmons

Introduction To The Region

The fire season, generally, begins at the end of spring and persists into the fall. On some occasions, however, the fires will persist until the first snow fall of the season. The northwest includes states such as Washington, Idaho, Wyoming, Oregon, and Montana, but other states, such as California, Colorado, and (occasionally) Arizona, also suffer from frequent wildfires. Due to these fires, Indigenous communities may suffer from loss of economical income, their livelihoods, their homes, family members, livestock, sites that are sacred, health deterioration, and many other factors. Some of the most detrimental fires in recent years to federally recognized tribes includes the North Star Fire (WA), the Spokane fire (WA), and the Nez Perce fires (ID).


Image1- "Cougar Creek Fire on the Yakama Nation"

Brief History of Major Wildfires

The most widely known fire to cause the most destruction in this region would be the 1910 fires, or the Great Fire of 1910. This fire season began in the Blackfeet National Forest in the northwestern portion of Montana on April 29th, 1910. Fires continued throughout the next several months, and by august the region was experiencing drought like conditions. The increasing amounts of fires was largely due to railroads and lack of funding, supplies, and manpower to combat the fires. On August 10th, "fires had broken out and were quickly spreading on the surrounding Clearwater, Lolo, Cabinet, Flathead, Blackfeet, and Kaniksu National Forests. It was at this point that the National Forest Service persuaded President Howard Taft to deploy troops to replace the civilians, which amounted to approximately 4,000 troops being called into action. The troops and other federal resources were spread very thin to cover the entire Northwestern region. On August 20th, "hurricane-force winds swept through the region and fanned embers and low flames back to life throughout the Northern Rockies," which was later referred to as the Big Blowup (Forest History Society). People were evacuated by trains, because there was no stopping or containing the fire. Official reports have estimated that after the Big Blowup occurred, 1,736 fires burned more than 3 million acres of land and consumed an estimated 7.5 billion board feet of timber. Eighty-six individuals died during the Big Blowup, most of which were firefighters on the frontlines. The fire, overall, "affected forest fire fighting policy of the nation and influenced forest management to this very day" (US National Forest Service). This fire was also the first to receive mass amounts of media and public attention to wildfires and, the overall, forest health. It is unclear how greatly this fire affected the Indigenous populations, but it can be assumed that they were greatly impacted, along with other towns and cities in the northwest.

Another significant fire includes the Yellowstone Fire, which is largely due to it occurring in a national park, as well as the amount of mass media it generated. The fire itself was not as large or as devastating as other fires, such as the Great Fire of 1910 or even, more recently, the North Star fire on the Colville Reservation.


Image2- "Horses- County Line 2 Fire- Warm Springs Reservation"

Recent Fires and How it's Impacted Indigenous Peoples

Some of the more recent fires in the northwest region in the United States includes the North Star fire, the Spokane fire, and the Nez Perce fires, which all took place during the 2015 and 2016 fire seasons. The increased wildfires magnitude is largely due to the climate changes that have occurred, as well as the bark beetle population. The bark beetle is an invasive species in the northwestern region, including the Northern Rockies, that reproduce under the bark of trees and because it is an invasive species, it has no natural predators. These beetles often cause tree mortality and increase the amount of fuel that could be used if a wildfire were to breakout (Bark Beetles - US Forest Service Research & Development; Doyle et al. 2013; Loehman et al. 2018; Halofsky et al. 2018). There are two types of bark beetles that have largely impacted the forests within this region that include the pine beetle and spruce beetles.

Image3- "Wildland Fire Summary and Statistics Annual Report 2015."

In recent years, much of the weather conditions that have allowed for the bark beetle populations to explode, as well as the deterioration of the forests' health, is the result of the lack of rainfall within the region (McNeel, "Wildfires Scorching Northwest, Including Tribal Lands," 2015; Loehman et al. 2018; Halofsky et al. 2018). Other conditions that increase the magnitude of the flames is the wind and increasing temperatures, as well as lack of manpower and resources fighting the fires, and not enough fire prevention management methods prior to the fire season have taken place. This can also relate to the lack of funding put into the National Forest Services and local and state firefighting agencies.

Image4- "Wildland Fire Summary and Statistics Annual Report 2016."

Not many studies have been done on the health consequences to tribal members and the natural resources that they rely on a daily basis, with the exception of tribes located in Alaska and the southwestern portion of the U.S. (Doyle et al., 2013; Liu et al. 2016). Some of the health factors include the exposure to smoke, being directly impacted by the flames, and the rising yearly temperatures can impact the wildlife, such as fish, wild berries, and hunting game (Doyle et al. 2013; Loehman et al. 2018; McNeel, "Can't Breathe, Can't See': Struggling to Live Through Wildfires," 2015). "There were days when the smoke was thick and heavy, but there are no measurements of air quality, so people concerned about the health risks had no way to assess the danger" (Doyle et al. 2013). On the Crow Reservation, located in Montana, it has been reported that "[t]he number of days exceeding 90 degree Fahrenheit (32 degrees Celsius) has double in the past century" (Doyle Et al., 2013). Even cultural practices have been affected across the region, due to the potential threat of the wildfires and the increasing temperatures.

Image5- " Wildland Fire Summary and Statistics Annual Report 2017."

The fires that will be examined here are those from 2015 and 2016, because much of the fires on tribal lands have not been fully studied or evaluated since then, as well as not much media attention has been given to the regional issue, with the exception of California. These fires include the Colville Fire, or the North Star Fires, that affected the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, the Spokane fire that affected the Spokane Tribe of Indians, and the Nez Perce Fires that affected the Nez Perce Tribe. The North Star Fires and the fires on the Spokane Reservation could be said to have gained the most media attention, as well as state and federal resources, due to the amount of damage caused by the fires. Each of the communities that have been affected and under direct threat from the flames had three levels of evacuation, with level three being the most critical and under the most hazardous conditions for the community. Level three entails actual evacuation from the site of imminent danger, level two is the preparation phase, such as gathering your possessions and organizing your family and pets, and the first level is a precautionary phase and the residents are not in any immediate danger (McNeel, "Wildfires Scorching Northwest, Including Tribal Lands," 2015). It should, however, be remembered that "[t]he impact of wildfires lasts well beyond the time when the last ember is extinguished. Communities are affected, as are individuals and industries. Nearly every segment of tribal life is affected and some will continue to be for years to come" (McNeel, "Can't Breathe, Can't See': Struggling to Live Through Wildfires," 2015).

Image6- "A firefighter battling the Spokane Wildfires in Washington August 2016"

The North Star Fires, located on the Colville Reservation, began in early August, 2015, as the region suffered drought like conditions, dry and high temperatures (McNeel, "Wildfires Scorching Northwest, Including Tribal Lands," 2015). These types of fires, such as the North Star Fires, often do not get put out until the first snowfall, when temperatures drop enough that containment can be made by the firefighters. Some of the reasoning, beyond the destruction, for why the fire was so devastating to the tribal community was that many of the tribal members relied on the lumber industry for their economical income (McNeel, "Can't Breathe, Can't See': Struggling to Live Through Wildfires," 2015). It should be noted that by August 21st, 2015, President Barack Obama did declare an emergency for Washington State, due to the thousands of acres that were currently burning. This allowed access to federal funds for the counties affected by the fires, which included tribal lands (Staff, "Wildfires Scorch More Than 500 Square Miles on Reservations in Northwest," 2015).

North Star Fires Timeline:


The Nez Perce Fires, located on and around the Nez Perce Reservation, is located in north central Idaho. Much of the same conditions as the North Star Fire were also affected in the other region's fires, such as the drought like conditions, as well as the not being put out until the first snowfall. However, the Nez Perce Fires were actively contained and proceeded into mop-up phase prior to end of the fire season.

Nez Perce Fires Timeline: