Hot and dry conditions have allowed a pair of deer diseases to spread in Eastern Washington, state wildlife officials say.
The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife announced this week that the region is seeing outbreaks of bluetongue and epizootic hemorrhagic disease, two viral infections caused by biting gnats that can kill deer quickly.
Staci Lehman, a Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife spokesperson, said the agency started getting calls last week from people who saw sick or dying deer primarily in Stevens and Spokane counties, and that the calls ramped up significantly on Monday…