TWISP, Wash.—The massive cloud of smoke is expected to lift over Washington wildfires on Sunday, but as air quality improves fire behavior could become more erratic and intense, fire officials said.
“It’s like a flue opening in a fireplace,” explained Suzanne Flory, spokeswoman for the U.S. Forest Service and the Rocky Mountain Incident Management Team. “Smoke serves as a cap on the fire.”
The Okanogan Complex of wildfires was measured at 374 square miles Sunday morning, after growing more than 100 miles larger Saturday in what fire officials said was a relatively calm fire day.
Sunday was expected to be a different story. Once the smoke lifts, humidity drops, heat rises and fires flare up.
The complex of fires was estimated to be about 10 percent contained as of Sunday morning, according to fire spokesman Dan Omdal.
