WHITNEY
WHITNEY WILD, KING 5 NEWS . >>> BACK AT HOME, MANY
FIREFIGHTERS AND SCIENTISTS A
CLIMATE CHANGE IS TO BLAME FOR
THE KINDS OF RECORD FIRES WEIRS
BEING IN CALIFORNIA AND
WASHINGTON.
WASHINGTON. NOW THERE IS NEW SCIENTIFIC
RESEARCH TO TRY TO FIGURE OUT
HOW MUCH WORSE THE FIRES WILL
GET.
GET.
GET. GLENN FARLEY SPENT MONTHS
STUDYING THIS, CULMINATING IN
AN IN DEPTH PROJECT IN 2019.>>
Reporter: ONE OF THE PLACES
THAT WE WENT LAST YEAR WAS THE
SITE OF THE 2017 NORTH PEAK
FIRE, WHICH IS STUDIED.
THIS CURRENT FIRE SEASON WILL
ALSO BE STUDY TO ANSWER THIS
QUESTION.
QUESTION.
QUESTION. WILL THE WESTERN WASHINGTON
WILDFIRE FOR ANSI GET WORSE?
>> THERE IS A STORY WRITTEN OF
DIFFERENT AGES OF THE FOREST
THAT DATE PACIFIERS.
>> Reporter: THEY LOOK AT THE
TREES TO INTERPRET THE FOREST
STORY.
STORY.
STORY. >>
STORY. >> YOU CAN READ THAT ON THE
HILLSIDE.
HILLSIDE.
HILLSIDE. >> HE DESCRIBES THE TREES THAT
REPLACED THOSE LOST TO WILDFIRE
OVER THE CENTURIES.
>> THE WHOLE WEST CASCADES
LANDSCAPE HAS A SERIES OF THESE
BURN FOOTPRINTS.>> Reporter:
THESE TWO ARE RESEARCH
SCIENTIST WITH THE WASHINGTON
DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL
RESOURCES.
RESOURCES. >> THE BIG FIRES THAT SHAPED
THE LANDSCAPE IN WESTERN
WASHINGTON ARE LIKE
EARTHQUAKES.
EARTHQUAKES. THIS IS ANOTHER ONE THAT MAY
NOT BE ON PEOPLE'S RADAR AS
MUCH ON THE WEST SIDE.
IT IS STILL A RISK OF LIVING
HERE.
HERE.
HERE. >>
HERE. >> Reporter: YES, HE DID SAY
THE WORD, BIG.
>> Reporter: THE BURN IN
SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON TORCHED AN
ESTIMATED 1 MILLION ACRES.
IT WAS A COMPLEX OF FIRES THAT
STOOD AS WASHINGTON'S RECORD
FOR 112 YEARS, UNTIL 2014
CARLTON COMPLEX IN EASTERN
WASHINGTON.
WASHINGTON. IT WAS ALSO THE BEHAVIOR OF THE
FIRE THAT IS SOBERING.
>> AT ONE POINT, THAT BURN
TRAVELED 30 MILES IN A 36 HOUR
PERIOD.>> Reporter: YOU MIGHT
LIVE ON THE WET, WESTSIDE.
THAT MIGHT SOUND MORE FIRE SAFE
THAN IT IS.
IT ALSO MEANS MORE STUFF GROWS
TO BECOME FUEL.
THE WESTSIDE SUMMERS DRY THAT
OUT.
OUT.
OUT. THERE IS ANOTHER COMMON, AND
NECESSARY INGREDIENT TO GET A
BIG WESTSIDE FIRE, DRY WIND
FROM THE EAST.
>> THAT IS WHAT WE WANT TO LOOK
AT, CHANGE IN THE POTENTIAL OF
GETTING THAT PERFECT SET UP.
>> Reporter: CRYSTAL RAYMOND IS
WITH THE UNIVERSITY OF
WASHINGTON'S CLIMATE IMPACT
GROUP.
GROUP.
GROUP. TO
GROUP. TO GET A BIG WESTERN WASHINGTON
FIRE IS LIKE A RECIPE.
YOU CALLED MAY HAVE BEEN A
RECORDHOLDER, BUT THERE BEEN
PLENTY OF OTHER EXAMPLES.
>> ANY LOW HUMIDITY, AND EAST
WIND.
WIND.
WIND. WE
WIND. WE HAVE A CONDITION IN WHICH
THE DRY, WARM AIR COMES FROM THE
EASTERN PART OF THE STATE AND
INTO WESTERN WASHINGTON.
AFTER THAT YOU NEED AN
IGNITION.
IGNITION.
IGNITION. >> Reporter: THERE ARE TWO
AREAS OF CONCERN.
WILL CLIMATE CHANGE LEAD TO
GIANT FIRES?
GIANT FIRES? ALSO, WILL WE SEE SMALLER AND
MIDSIZE FIRES?
MIDSIZE FIRES? >> IF WE THINK OF CLIMATE
PROJECTIONS, ALL OF THEM ARE
CONSISTENT THAT SUMMERS WILL BE
WARMER AND DRYER.
>> WE'VE SEEN AN INCREASE IN
THE NUMBER OF DAYS PER YEAR
WITH HIGH FIRE POTENTIAL.>>
Reporter: I DID REACH BACK OUT
TO DAN YESTERDAY, TO GET AN
UPDATE ON WHERE THAT RESEARCH
IS GOING.
IS GOING.
IS GOING. IT WILL BE CONTINUING HERE FOR
SEVERAL YEARS.
SEVERAL YEARS. >> WE HOPE TO GET A BETTER
HANDLE ON THE EAST WIND EVENTS,
AND HOW THEY DRIVE FIRES ON THE
WEST SIDE.
WEST SIDE. WE WANT TO LOOK AT THESE
THRESHOLDS BEYOND WHICH THE BIG
FIRE EVENTS HAPPEN HERE.
ALSO, WHETHER THEY WILL CHANGE
UNDER THE CLIMATE CHANGE IN THE
FUTURE.
FUTURE.
FUTURE. ONE OF THE BIG QUESTIONS WILL
BE HOW THE FIRE RISK TO
COMMUNITIES LOOK.
COMMUNITIES LOOK. WE HAVE TO LOOK AT WHAT
COMMUNITIES ARE THE MOST AT
RISK, AND WHY.
THAT WILL BE A REALLY IMPORTANT
QUESTION MOVING FORWARD.
>>> THIS IS WHAT WE ARE DEALING
WITH NOW.
WITH NOW.
WITH NOW. WE HAVE A LOT MORE MATERIAL ON
OUR WEBSITE, IF YOU WANT TO GET
A LINK TO THAT, TEXT THE WORD
CLIMATE TO THE NUMBER ON