High heat, along with an unusual tropical weather system heading north, helped kick off what is normally the toughest stretch of Washington state’s fire season.

The strange part is the remnants of a tropical cyclone that worked its way up through California to the Pacific Northwest, bringing lighting and some rain.

“That is very unusual, for the pattern for us to have with a major heatwave with air coming up from the south,” said Nick Bond of the University of Washington who serves as the state’s climatologist. “It’s why it’s been so sticky at night, too.”

From California to Washington state, heat, dry lightning and hot temperatures contribute to a brutal weekend on the West Coast, as new fires break out from Los Angeles to nearly the Canadian border.