The high-risk wildfire season experts predicted due to drought conditions across the Northwest has already arrived: In the past two weeks, fires have destroyed dozens of homes, disrupted communities and damaged orchards and vineyards in North Central Washington. 

Several growers took time away from dealing with the aftermath of the fires to share their experience with Good Fruit Grower, as well as some advice for others who may face a similar threat in what’s expected to be a hot, dry summer. 

Mike Papritz’s Elevate Vineyards sits near the top of the Chelan Springs development, which was decimated by the Chelan Hills Fire that started in the wee hours of July 4. He spent the day digging fire lines around the vineyard until fire officials told him it was absolutely time to evacuate.

“If they say you have to go, you have to go. The winds were whipping up and we had dug as much as we could, put the tractor in the safest place we could, and got the heck out,” Papritz said. 

The fire ended up burning about half his vineyard and destroyed the well house and cisterns. Now, he’s worried about getting the water back on so he can get the surviving vines through the season — but in the big picture, he’s feeling pretty lucky. 

“We didn’t lose much compared to the neighbors who lost their homes,” he said. 

Ultimately, the fire burned almost 10,000 acres, killing one person as they attempted to evacuate and destroying dozens of homes. The cause of the fire remains under investigation, and the Douglas County Sheriff is offering a $25,000 reward for information that could lead to those responsible.

Another human-caused fire, the B&O Fire, started south of Okanogan just a few days later, ultimately burning over 2,700 acres, destroying several homes and damaging several orchards. 

“The wind was 18, 22 miles per hour and it just came over the hill in 15 or 20 minutes,” said grower Elias Sandoval. 

He and his employees had time to turn on the water before evacuating, but the wind still pushed the fire into the canopy of his trees. It’s unclear if some of the older, freestanding apple trees will be able to recover from the damage, he said. 

“I lost some trees, but I can replant next spring and it’s going to be OK. But there’s a lot of damage in my neighborhood, families that lost houses, that’s a lot harder to replace than some trees,” he said. “I feel for them, and I’m just moving ahead.” 

Greg Newman, an agronomist with NWFM, posted on LinkedIn about the damage to orchards he manages in that area and his gratitude for the firefighters who worked hard to protect the community.  

He estimates that they lost thousands of trees on the outside rows of blocks, as well as the irrigation systems, fencing and equipment, but they are still assessing the severity of the damage in terms of which trees may recover if they can get irrigation systems repaired quickly. 

“One of the things I’m worried about now is that it burned up our wildlife fences, and it torched the habitat,” he said. 

People often think that well-irrigated orchards and vineyards won’t burn, but that’s a misconception, said Newman, who is also a volunteer firefighter in his community in the Yakima Valley. 

“With the wind pushing it and the heat behind it, there’s not a lot you can do,” he said. “Flames took the tops of the trees.”

In one of his neighbor’s blocks, the fire burned four or five rows deep into the orchard, despite it being green.

Like Sandoval, his crews put the water on before evacuating, but they didn’t have enough irrigation capacity to turn on every block across the ranches in the area. Moreover, modern microsprinklers and drip systems just don’t put out enough water to make a big impact in the case of a wildfire, he said. 

When asked for advice for other growers who may face fires in the future, Newman said the best thing growers and homeowners can do is invest in prevention.  

“Keep a green border that’s easy to get water on and will slow the fire down,” he said. “Everything is going to be different depending on the water you have available.”

Easy access to the farm for firefighters is another factor to consider, he added. 

Papritz said he’s also seen the value of having more defensible space around his property.

“Now we really understand that, even if it’s whipping around in high winds, if we can increase defensible space, we’re going to slow it down,” he said. •