Drought warning issued for Eastern Washington. What it means for wildfires and farms

The Washington state Department of Ecology is warning of a possible drought for all of Eastern Washington.

“There are growing concerns for farmers and ranchers in Eastern Washington,” the department said in a drought advisory issued Thursday.

Recent months have had little rainfall, including in Benton and Franklin counties.

March through April was the fourth driest early spring period in Washington state since 1895, according to the Department of Ecology.

No precipitation was recorded in the Tri-Cities in April, and March had just 0.12 inch recorded.

May is not looking much better with 0.19 inch so far, well below normal precipitation for May of 0.73 inch, according to the National Weather Service.

Jeff Marti, Ecology’s water resources planner, said there are reports of crop stress and reduced yields. He’s heard anecdotal accounts of problems from wheat farmers and hay producers.

However, Tri-Cities area residents and farmers who use Kennewick Irrigation District water appear to be in good shape, at least for now.

KID depends on snowpack in the Eastern Cascades and up-river reservoirs to fill the Yakima River.

As of May 7 the U.S. Bureau Reclamation was reporting that the water supply for the Yakima Basin, the source of KID water, should be adequate to meet all senior and junior water rights this irrigation season.

That’s despite March and April precipitation at the Yakima Project’s reservoirs at only 40% of average.

“The basin snowpack is holding up well and remains above normal in spite of the low precipitation and the reservoirs have near normal storage,” said Chuck Garner, Yakima Project River Operations supervisor for the Bureau of Reclamation, earlier this month.

However, in the Walla Walla and Snake watersheds, early snowmelt is leaving less than average levels as April temperatures were higher than normal in much of the state, according to the Department of Ecology.

The outlook for the wildfire season is mixed.

The wildfire outlook already is rated as “moderate” for the greater Tri-Cities area, which is earlier than usual, said Chief Mike Harris of Franklin County Fire District 3.

But the dry spring has limited the fuel available to feed wildfires.

Annual grasses such as cheatgrass are not as tall and thick as they would be in a wetter spring, Harris said.

That could reduce the intensity of wildfires, he said.

This story was originally published May 27, 2021 at 1:08 PM.