Washington

Wildfires rage in Oregon, Washington: Map the Pacific Northwest wildfires, evacuations

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2 years ago

August 4, 2024

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Wildfires rage in Oregon, Washington: Map the Pacific Northwest wildfires, evacuations

The Pacific Northwest faces a multitude of major fires, blanketing the region in smoke and evacuation notices.

More than 1 million acres have burned in Oregon and in Washington, Governor Jay Inslee issued an emergency proclamation for the state Friday

There are 32 major fires across Oregon and Washington that are less than 99% contained as of Sunday morning, according to a Northwest Interagency Coordination Center report.

Over 9,000 people are under an evacuation notice in Oregon, with an estimated 1,251 people under a level three notice that advises residents to leave the area immediately, according to the Oregon Office of Emergency Management.

Here’s what you need to know about some of the major fires in the Pacific Northwest.

Oregon fire map

Durkee Fire

The Durkee Fire has burned just under 295,000 acres in eastern Oregon and is 80% contained as of Sunday morning, according to the NICC report. The nearby Cow Valley fire is 99% contained after burning 133,490 acres.

The Thompson Fire continues to burn to the northeast of the Durkee Fire. It has singed over 31,000 acres and is 65% contained, according to the Oregonian’s wildfire tracker.

Falls Fire

The Falls Fire has burned over 145,000 acres in the heart of Oregon. The fire is flanked to the east by the Telephone Fire, which has burned over 50,000 acres.

The combined fires have put over 2,300 people under an evacuation notice, with about 1,700 of those residents under a level-two or level-three notice.

Monkey Creek Fire

The Monkey Creek Fire near the Oregon-Washington border has burned 113,902 in over three weeks. It is 32% contained as of Sunday morning, according to the Oregon OEM.

Over 2,800 people are under evacuation notices caused by the Monkey Creek and surrounding fires.

Washington fire map

Washington fires

The Pioneer Fire has blazed in Washington for just under two months in, charring 35,477 acres in the north of the state. It is 12% contained as of Sunday morning and threatening structures, according to the NICC.

The Swawilla I Fire has burned 53,403 acres in the northeast of the state. It is 85% contained as of Sunday morning.

The Retreat Fire in the southern half of Washington has burned nearly 41,000 acres and is 40% contained as of Sunday morning.

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Washington

Washington Spirit goalkeeper Aubrey Kingsbury announces she’s pregnant

Published

1 day ago

February 26, 2026

Press Room

Washington Spirit goalkeeper Aubrey Kingsbury announces she’s pregnant

Washington Spirit goalkeeper Aubrey Kingsbury has announced that she and her husband Matt are expecting a baby in July.

The couple made the announcement in a video on the Spirit’s social media channels, holding a baby goalkeeper jersey on the pitch at Audi Field.

Kingsbury becomes the most recent Spirit star to go on maternity leave, following defender Casey Krueger, midfielder Andi Sullivan and forward Ashley Hatch.

Sullivan gave birth to daughter Millie in July, while Hatch welcomed her son Leo in January.

Krueger announced she was pregnant with her second child in October.

Kingsbury has served as the Spirit’s starting goalkeeper since 2018, and has been named the NWSL Goalkeeper of the Year twice (2019 and 2021).

The 34-year-old has two caps with the U.S. women’s national team, and was named to the 2023 World Cup roster.

The club captain will leave a major void for the Spirit, who have finished as NWSL runner-up in back-to-back seasons.

Sandy MacIver and Kaylie Collins are expected to compete for the starting role while Kingsbury is on maternity leave.

The Spirit kick off their 2026 campaign on March 13 against the Portland Thorns.

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Washington

Washington state board awards Yakima $985,600 loan for Sixth Avenue project design

Published

2 days ago

February 26, 2026

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Washington state board awards Yakima 5,600 loan for Sixth Avenue project design

YAKIMA, Wash. — Yakima could soon take a major step toward redesigning Sixth Avenue after the Washington State Public Works Board awarded the city a $985,600 loan.

The loan was approved for the design engineering phase of the Sixth Avenue project. The funding can also be used along Sixth Avenue for utility replacement and updated ADA use.

The Yakima City Council must decide whether to accept the award. If the council accepts it, the city’s engineering work will move forward with the design of Sixth Avenue.

The cost of installing trolley lines is excluded from the plan. The historic trolleys would need to raise the funds required to add trolley lines.

The award is scheduled to be discussed during next week’s City Council meeting.

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Microsoft promises more AI investments at University of Washington

Published

2 days ago

February 25, 2026

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Microsoft promises more AI investments at University of Washington

Microsoft will ramp up its investment in the University of Washington.

Brad Smith, the company’s president, made the announcement at a press conference with University of Washington President Robert Jones on Tuesday.

That means hiring more UW graduates as interns at Microsoft, he said.

And he said all students, faculty, and researchers should have access to free, or at least deeply-discounted, AI.

“ Some of it is compute that Microsoft is donating, and some of it is pursuant to an agreement where, believe me, we give the University of Washington probably the best pricing that anybody’s gonna find anywhere,” Smith said. He assured the small group of reporters present that it would be “many millions of dollars of additional computational resources.”

The announcement today didn’t include any specific numbers.

But Smith said Microsoft has already invested $165 million in the UW over several decades.

He pointed to Jones’ vision to spur “radical collaborations with businesses and communities to advance positive change,” and eliminate “any artificial barriers between the university and the communities it serves.”

Microsoft’s goal is for AI to help UW researchers solve some of the world’s biggest problems without introducing new ones.

At Tuesday’s announcement, several research students were present to demonstrate how AI supports their work.

Amelia Keyser-Gibson is an environmental scientist at the UW. She’s using AI to analyze photographs of vines, to find which adapt best to climate change.

It’s a paradox: AI produces carbon emissions. At the same time, it’s also a new tool to help reduce them.

So how do those things square for Keyser-Gibson?

“ That’s a great question, and honestly, I don’t know the answer to that,” she said. “I’m highly aware that there’s a lot of environmental impact of using AI, but what I can say is that this has allowed us to make research innovations that wouldn’t have been possible otherwise.”

“If we had had to manually annotate every single image that would’ve been an undergrad doing that for hours,” Keyser-Gibson continued. “And we didn’t have the budget. We didn’t have the manpower to do that.”

“AI exists. If we don’t use it as researchers, we’re gonna fall behind.”

Microsoft reports on its own carbon emissions. But like most AI companies, it doesn’t reveal everything.

That’s one reason another UW student named Zhihan Zhang is using AI to estimate how much energy AI is using.

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