Hikers, Campers Still Visiting Washington Forests, Despite Heavy Presence of Wildfires

Washington State is on pace to match or surpass its record of more than 630 wildfires set in 2015.

But there's still a massive amount of forest land campers and hikers can visit which is not affected by the fires.

Robin DeMario with the U.S. Forest Service says the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest is a good example. It currently has two major fires burning large acreage - the Twentyfive Mile and Scheinder Springs fires - within an area that stretches from the Canadian border south to the Yakima Nation.

"It's a big span of landscape between those points," said DeMario. "And there are many areas that are not affected, most of the forest is not affected."

Demario says people just need to be cautious and keep in mind that wildfires can start up quickly.

"Be aware of what's going on," DeMario said. "Also be aware that smoke impacts can come and go. One day there may be no smoke, and the next day there might be heavy smoke in an area. That's something that people should always be aware of."

The Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest is roughly 3.8 million acres in size.