Douglas County Complex fire, about 10 miles east of Waterville, Wa., as seen on July 15.
BLM
Cooler temperatures around the region have slowed the number of wildfires burning in the Pacific Northwest.
"This is a nice reprieve in the middle of July," said Robin DeMario, a spokesperson with the Northwest Interagency Coordination Center in Portland.
Right now, fire crews are making gains on seven large-scale fires that are burning about 60,000 acres in Oregon and Washington.
The cool and at times even wet weather during the past week has given the 1,300 firefighters scattered around the Pacific Northwest the upper hand, at least for now, DeMario said.
"It has helped them to be able to construct fire lines directly, meaning right at the fire’s edge," she said. "In many areas it has helped also to calm fire behavior and activity."
Drought and hot temperatures helped fuel an early start to this fire season. That’s something fire officials expect will return soon.