Oregon has nearly as many wildfires burning as three neighboring states combined.
As of Tuesday, Oregon had 38 active wildfires that ranged in size from 0.01 acres, near the Umpqua National Forest in Clearwater, to over 223,800 acres, in Baker County’s Durkee area, according to the Northwest Interagency Coordination Center, which coordinates fire response for Oregon and Washington.
California, Idaho and Washington combined have 45 fires, with California at 24, Idaho at 12 and Washington at nine, according to Cal Fire, the Idaho Department of Land Management and Washington State Department of Natural Resources.
Over 767,600 acres are burning in Oregon, compared with 105,800 acres in California, 71,200 in Washington and 7,700 in Idaho.
U.S. Rep. Cliff Bentz, R-Dist. 2, who represents all of eastern Oregon and parts of southern Oregon in Congress, called the situation “horrible” and placed the blame on unthinned timber throughout the state. He said combating the blazes was an almost herculean task.
“The federal folks are doing their best to do the impossible,” Bentz told The Oregonian/OregonLive.
Four of the largest fires in Oregon, three over 100,000 acres and one over 200,000, are in the central and eastern parts of the state.
Carol Connolly, spokesperson for the coordination center, said recent thunderstorms and lightning explain why Oregon has the highest number of active wildfires and why they are concentrated in the central and eastern parts of the state.
From Sunday to Monday, Oregon recorded around 1,300 lightning strikes, while neighboring Washington had only 128, Connolly said.
Lightning sparked the Durkee fire Wednesday in Baker County. The fire is 0% contained, the center reports.
Northwest of Burns, the Falls fire – which started on July 10 – has grown to 139,500 acres and is 40% contained, the Northwest Incident Management Team 8 reported. The fire growth is due to a series of thunderstorms and winds up to 25 mph.
The management team reported they conducted a successful “tactical burnout” operation Sunday night near Coral Creek to secure a line near private properties.
The Cow Valley fire, located north of Vale, is at 133,400 acres. The fire has burned more than 128,000 acres of grazing range since starting on July 11 and is 78% contained, according to Oregon Department of Forestry.
Lone Rock fire, 10 miles southeast of Condon, has grown to just over 131,400 acres since starting on July 13, Central Oregon Fire reported.
More than half of the fires are concentrated just 12 miles north of Crater Lake, where a cluster of 25 fires rest within a 30-mile radius. Most of the fires are relatively small, with the largest fire being a little over 1,100 acres.
On Monday, state officials ordered a Level 3 (go now) evacuation order to the south of Hood River and east of Mosier for the Microwave Tower fire.
Naturally caused fires are not preventable but preventing any human-caused wildfires is crucial for aiding firefighters battling the ongoing ones, Connolly said.
“Any new human-caused fires will take critical resources to put out,” she said.
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