Oregon wildfire season expected to be ‘even more aggressive' than last year, Gov. Kotek warns

Yahoo

08-05-2025

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — As temperatures heat up, Oregon Governor Tina Kotek declared May 2025 'Wildfire Preparedness Month,' urging residents to brace for another potentially dangerous year.
Kotek joined fire officials with the Oregon Department of Forestry(ODF) and the Oregon State Fire Marshal (OSFM) to hold a briefing in Salem on Wednesday to discuss how the state is getting ready as wildfire season approaches.
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'Record-setting wildfire seasons across the west are getting longer and more devastating. What we know to be an 'average fire season' has long passed,' Governor Kotek said. 'Last summer's devastating wildfires called for sacrifice, courage, and cooperation from everyone involved. Our state has spent the off-season preparing to take on what we know will be another dangerous summer.'
According to Kotek, weather experts predict a hotter summer than last year, with increased risk due to dried vegetation.
'We are preparing for what is likely to be an even more aggressive and increasingly difficult to control wildfire season this year,' said the Governor. 'By July and August, we will experience above average severity that will culminate in September and October as we reach peak fire danger.'
The warning follows one of the most destructive wildfire seasons in Oregon's history.
In 2024, the state saw 1,956 fires, which burned a record-breaking 1.9 million acres. The fires forced the Governor to invoke 17 conflagration acts and racked up more than $350 million in firefighting bills.
'Here in Oregon, as always, we applied lessons from previous years to make sure we are better prepared every year to deal with our response and our recovery,' Kotek said. 'And that's what we're looking to do. We're prioritizing readiness, coordination, risk mitigation and a comprehensive statewide approach.'
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According to ODF, training has already begun for crews of adults in custody with the Oregon Department of Corrections to assist in wildland firefighting.
Oregon State Fire Marshal Mariana Ruiz-Temple said Oregon's mutual aid system has 11,000 firefighters ready to respond, with plans to bring on 1,500 seasonal workers in June.
'It takes every level of government and every person to help us keep fires small and away from communities,' Ruiz-Temple said. 'And it starts with preparedness. It starts with this month, if we can do actions now to mitigate that risk, that helps your firefighters in the community and at the state level this fire season.'
The 2025 wildfire briefing was held at the ODF Fire Cache, a critical resource for the state's preparedness plan.
The ODF Fire Cache houses, tests, and deploys equipment and supplies to firefighter camps and incident command management teams within 24 hours of an initial fire call.
'These fire caches provide our first responders with the critical resources they need beyond the first 24 hours of being deployed, including additional hoses, pumps and fire tools, along with the necessary supporting infrastructure, such as mobile kitchens, communication units, showers and generators to power the fire camps, when thousands of firefighters are deployed to large wildfires across the state,' Said Kotek. 'At our peak fire days in 2024, these fire caches supported over 10,000 firefighters going into Oregon.'
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The Governor called on all Oregonians to support first responders by doing their part to sign up for alerts, know the fire danger level and local restrictions where they live, and build defensible space at their homes.
Below are tips from Governor Kotek's office that Oregonians can do to help mitigate the risk of wildfires this season:
Space and prune trees to prevent fire from climbing into tree canopies and transferring fire to your homes.
Remove leaves, pine needles, bark mulch, and other debris within 100 feet of structures or up to your property line.
Clean roofs and gutters of flammable debris.
Move combustible materials—like mulch and firewood—away from your home.
Keep plants trimmed and clear of dead material, especially near the house.
Avoid planting directly under eaves; leave at least a five-foot buffer.
Know your evacuation routes, be two weeks ready and sign up for emergency alerts.
Know your local air quality smoke conditions by keeping up with DEQ's AirNow program.
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