In my local paper this AM there is an article predicting a bad (although not as bad as '14 or '15) in Washington. There have already been 315 fires here, including "significant" fires in central and eastern Washington and several fires over on the wet side in April, which is *way* early. Forecast is for hotter and drier than usual this summer. The state is pre-spotting planes and other equipment to be ready. Could have something to do with this. I have no idea what the state may have told MtRS, but there could be some relevance here.
hank