How are wildfires named in Oregon? Here's what to know

If you were curious about how wildfires are named, don't think too hard.

As it turns out, naming a wildfire doesn't take much.

Firefighters are taught to name fires off the most local landmarks such as a road name, nearest prominent ridge or creek.

For example, the Larch Creek Fire and Salt Creek Fire were named by first on-scene commander.

"The only addition to that is that if there are several separate but nearby fires, they are often grouped together and called a 'complex,'” explained Tim Hoffman, public affairs officer for Oregon Department of Forestry. "So the XXXXXX Creek Fire could have its name changed to the XXXXXX Creek Complex Fire."

Emma Logan is an outdoors journalism intern for the Statesman Journal. She can be reached atelogan@salem.gannett.com or on X @emmmalogan