Nearly five months in, Oregon wildfire season expected to last into mid-October

By Alex Baumhardt
The Herald and News
September 25, 2024
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

Oregon’s forest and fire leaders were succinct in describing this year’s wildfire season to a group of Oregon senators. “It just won’t quit is essentially where we’re at, and our folks are really tired,” Kyle Williams, deputy director of fire operations at the Oregon Department of Forestry, told the Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Wildfire on Tuesday. Williams and two others — Doug Graffe, Gov. Tina Kotek’s wildfire and military advisor; and Travis Medema, a chief deputy for the Oregon State Fire Marshal — told senators the state would likely wrap up its now five-monthlong fire season in mid-October, following a record 1.9 million acres burned. That’s nearly three times as many acres as the state’s 10-year average. Medema said projections from the Northwest Interagency Coordination Center, which coordinates wildfire resources, showed one or two more “significant event days” before the state is fully out of the 2024 wildfire season.

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