If you have noticed a recent explosion in the number of Washington fires this past decade, you are not alone. Wildfire Frequency Over the YearsIn the 1990s, an average of 86,000 acres of land burned per year in Washington State. By 2017, it became expected in Central Washington to have weeks of thick smoke cover caused by these megablazes. This growth has exacerbated small fires into unstoppable conflagrations. So far, the state has cleared about 35% of its targeted small trees and 17% of targeted underbrush.