Biohazard and Crime Scene Remediation in Okanogan, WA

Okanogan is a city in and the county seat of Okanogan County, Washington, set on the west bank of the Okanogan River in the north-central part of the state, about five miles southwest of the larger city of Omak in the Greater Omak Area.

The city's name derives from the Syilx'tsn word for 'rendezvous' or 'meeting place,' and its site was a longtime Indigenous camping and fishing ground of the Southern Okanogan (Sinkaietk) people.

The settlement was founded in 1888 as Alma, named for Alma Kahlow; it was renamed Pogue in 1905 for a prominent citizen and then renamed Okanogan in 1907, the year it officially incorporated on October 29.

Apple orchards and timber powered Okanogan's early growth, and the arrival of the Great Northern Railway in 1914 helped the city take the county seat from Conconully that same year; its 1915 county courthouse still serves the county.

The 2020 census counted 2,379 people in Okanogan, living in 964 households, down from 2,552 residents in 2010.

The city covers about 2.0 square miles at an elevation of about 860 feet and has a semi-arid climate, with only about 12 inches of precipitation a year measured at nearby Omak.

The Okanogan County Historical Museum, housed in the city's old fire hall, preserves the celebrated photographic collection of Frank Matsura, the Japanese immigrant photographer who documented pioneer-era Okanogan County.

In January 2022, renovators of a 1907 downtown commercial building — once the Hub Theater — discovered two hidden 60-foot-long murals, about 115 years old, painted by Wenatchee artist W. J. McConnon, and the canvases were taken down for restoration as a historical exhibit.

Okanogan has its own small commuter airfield, Okanogan Legion Airport, with a single paved runway of 2,533 feet.

The city is served by the Okanogan School District, and its official sister city is Keremeos, British Columbia, just across the Canadian border.