Oregon faces long wildfire season as new fires spark and lightning, evacuations mount

Oregon’s wildfire season is off to a busy start, and it's expected to stay that way the rest of the summer, Gov. Tina Kotek acknowledged at a Friday news conference.

A whopping 434,821 acres in 30 large wildfires have burned in the state already this season, in addition to issuing 88 evacuation orders and warnings. The number of acres burned this season is already more than all of last year and almost more than all of 2022.

Problem is, it’s only mid-July. And the situation is going to get worse.

“It’s going to be a long wildfire season,” said Kotek, who declared a wildfire state of emergency earlier this month.

17 large wildfires burning, more lightning to come

There were 17 large wildfires burning across Oregon as of Friday afternoon, many of which sparked when more than 1,000 lightning strikes hit a state that had been dried to the bone by a historic heat wave earlier this month.

The situation could likely get worse with three days of hot temperatures and additional dry lightning forecast Friday and especially Saturday night.

“We’re facing pretty challenging conditions,” said Kyle Williams, deputy director of fire operations for the Oregon Department of Forestry. “It’s hot and dry and there’s a significant threat from lightning (this weekend).”

In response, Oregon called for help from neighboring states and prepositioning fire crews in southwest Oregon, where lightning is expected to hit hardest. Fire crews had arrived not only from California and Washington, but also from New Mexico, Idaho, Texas and Florida as well.

“Our wildland firefighters are working around the clock to detect fires early and put them out as quickly as possible,” Kotek said.

A plea to avoid sparking wildfires, know evacuation levels

In the news conference, state agencies made a plea for Oregonians to avoid igniting new fires, on top of the lightning caused ones.

At least 12 of the state’s largest fires this year were human-caused — including the 114,000-acre Falls Fire in Eastern Oregon.

In general, officials outlawed campfires statewide except in developed campgrounds. However, many campgrounds in Central and Eastern Oregon, including all state parks, banned campfires or open flames.

“We’ve got our hands full already,” Williams said. “We’re doubling down on asking Oregonians for help with preventing new fires. Any fires we can keep off the landscape means our firefighters can be deployed elsewhere where they’re needed.”

Officials also emphasized Oregonians being aware of evacuation levels and understanding where to get that information, whether on social media, traditional media or apps such as Everbridge.

“It is absolutely essential to be aware of the fires in your area and familiar with evacuation levels,” Kotek said, noting the level 1 “be set,” level 2 “be ready to go at anytime” and level 3 “go now.” “Be prepared in case you need to leave. Don’t wait for a high level, especially this weekend.”

Zach Urness has been an outdoors reporter in Oregon for 16 years and is host of the Explore Oregon Podcast. Urness is the author of “Best Hikes with Kids: Oregon” and “Hiking Southern Oregon.” He can be reached at zurness@StatesmanJournal.com or (503) 399-6801. Find him on X at @ZachsORoutdoors.