Wildfires have burned more Oregon acreage in 2024 than ever before.
The Oregon Department of Forestry’s Daily Situation Report for Aug. 9 estimated 1,387,541 acres burned so far. Officials expect that acreage total to continue growing as the state’s wildfire season nears its usual peak in mid-August.
The total is higher than any other year since 1992, when reliable records started. The total exceeds the previous record holders of 2020, at 1.3 million acres, and 2012, at 1.29 million acres.
The state’s largest wildfire this year, the Durkee Fire, burned an estimated 294,265 acres near the Oregon-Idaho border after it started on July 17. The fire is 97% contained and management has since transitioned back to local authorities.
“Crews will continue patrolling for any residual heat, supporting suppression repair, and mapping dozer and handlines for future repair,” the fire’s daily update on Aug. 9 read. “Firefighters and aircraft are available for initial attack if needed.”
Oregon’s next highest-acreage fires so far this year are the Battle Mountain Complex, the Falls Fire, and the Lone Rock Fire which burned 182,808 acres, 147,320 acres, and 137,222 acres respectively.
Climate change, overgrown forests, and people are the top causes for Oregon’s worsening wildfire seasons, according to an Oregon Forest Resources Institute report. The high burned acreage totals aren’t unprecedented; fire experts previously warned massive wildfires in the state were a disaster waiting to happen and part of a larger trend in the Western U.S. Even though the total number of yearly Oregon wildfires have remained steady over the past decade, the total amount of acres burned per year have increased dramatically.
“Factors contributing to this explosion of ‘megafires’ include overgrown forests and the effects of climate change, which have led to extreme weather, drought and insect infestations that weaken and kill trees, making forests more prone to fire damage,” the report said.
“The good news is there are many actions homeowners and landowners can take to reduce the fuels wildfires need to spread … These include clearing flammable vegetation and debris around homes, pruning or thinning trees, and using controlled burns to reduce dry brush and other fuels in forests, rangelands and grasslands adjacent to homes.”
