Northwest communities, including Sudden Valley, prepare for risk of wildfires

Wildfires have been big news this summer, from the massive Rim Fire by Yosemite National Park to the tragic Yarnell Hill Fire north of Phoenix that killed 19 firefighters.

Western Washington has been spared major fires, but don't count on that lasting forever. While big fires are less frequent on the west side of the Cascades, burn scars on trees and ash layers in the ground document that they have flared in the past.

"Fire lives here," said Michael Medler, a fire geographer. "It's not alien."