Oregon wildfires down significantly in 2016
Despite dry conditions and summer temperatures on the warm side, Oregon enjoyed one of the least damaging forest fire seasons of the past decade.
Wildfires torched 186,317 acres in Oregon this year, the lowest total since 2010 and well below the 10-year average, according to data from the National Interagency Fire Center.
Forest fires are down nationwide as well, with 4.9 million acres burned, compared to last year’s record-setting 10 million acres blackened.
“We’ve seen significantly less fire activity than last year,” said Jessica Gardetto, spokeswoman for the interagency fire center.
Oregon wildfires torched 631,000 acres in 2015
Even human-caused fires are down in Oregon.
People caused 910 fires and burned 126,409 acres this season, down from 1,397 fires and 139,483 acres burned in 2015.
There is still the chance of fires popping up during October. However, no large wildfires are active in Oregon and most fire restrictions have been lifted after cool and wet conditions on the state’s west side.
A major reason for the overall improvement was the lack of dry lightning strikes this summer, officials said.
“The number of days where we had thunderstorms or dry lightning events was low compared to a normal year,” said Matthew Cullen, meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Portland. “In a typical year, we have a lot more outbreaks.”
Conditions also improved this summer, compared to 2015 and 2014, although not by a huge amount.
Snowpack this winter was far better than in 2015 and ’14. However, a hot and dry spring — along with the Willamette Valley’s fifth-warmest summer in recorded history — kept the state abnormally dry or in drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.
“Even if the snowpack was just decent, it at least delayed fire season more than during the past few years, especially in the higher mountains,” Gardetto said.
Salem has fifth-hottest summer in history
Drought looms as Oregon snowpack melts at record pace
Acres burned in Oregon
2016: 186,317 acres so far (human caused: 910 fires, 126,409 acres burned)
2015: 685,809 (human caused: 1,397 fires, 139,483 acres burned)
2014: 984,629
2013: 350,786
2012: 1,256,049
2011: 285,712
2010: 93,731
2009: 100,668
2008: 136,572
2007: 648,046
2006: 545,870
2005: 155,331
2004: 30,018
2003: 160,191
2002: 1,010,952
Largest fires in Oregon this summer
Rail Fire (U.S. Forest Service, Wallowa-Whitman National Forest, 41,716 acres
Cherry Road Fire (Vale District – BLM), 35,308 acres
Juntura Complex (Vale – BLM), 24,301 acres
Owyhee Canyon Fire (Vale – BLM), 21,776 acres
Akawana Fire (Central Oregon District – ODF), 2,094 acres
Bybee Creek Fire (Crater Lake Nat’l Park – National Park Service), 1,072 acres
Zach Urness has been an outdoors writer, photographer and videographer in Oregon for eight years. He is the author of the book “Hiking Southern Oregon” and can be reached at zurness@StatesmanJournal.com or (503) 399-6801. Find him on Zach Urness or @ZachsORoutdoors on Twitter.