Wildfire Season Underway, CWU Website Provides Fire/Smoke Updates

The 4,397-acre Spartan Fire southeast of Wenatchee has kicked off the wildfire season. Central Washington University maintains a Fire Updates web page to provide current information on fires and air quality levels in and around the region.

“Smoke can and has significantly affected operations, events, and travel, which is why we monitor it,” chief of staff Linda Schactler said. "When wildfire approaches, the entire community pitches in to keep information flowing and people, property, and animals out of harm's way."

CWU’s Ellensburg campus is centrally located within the state and has eight university centers throughout Washington. The website serves as a one-stop resource for the CWU and surrounding communities.

Central has maintained the fire updates website since 2012. The site is an information clearinghouse for county emergency management, Washington Smoke Blog, Washington Air Quality Map, InciWeb Incident Information System, and news media then summarized on the CWU Fire Updates web page.

CWU works collaboratively with local and state agencies during wildfire season to coordinate efforts and disseminate information to the public. CWU has also supported local, state, and federal firefighting efforts by providing public meeting space, and food and housing for Red Cross staff, firefighters, and displaced families. CWU employees have helped transport and provide shelter for displaced animals, and have coordinated collection and management of materials donated to help displaced families.

For more information and to bookmark the site, visit cwu.edu/fireupdates.

Media contact: Dawn Alford, public affairs coordinator, 509-963-1484, dawn.alford@cwu.edu.