Latest news with #NationalInteragencyCoordinationCenter
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Lands commissioner says 'don't be an idiot' over holiday weekend
Jul. 2—Public Lands Commissioner Dave Upthegrove had a simple message Wednesday for Washington residents ahead of the Fourth of July weekend: Make smart choices. "The Fourth of July is a fun time; let's not make it a dangerous one," Upthegrove said. "The bottom line is this: Don't be an idiot. Don't set the state on fire with your fireworks." The warning comes ahead of a weekend that is among the busiest for fire crews in the state, and comes at a time when much of the state is already at a heightened risk of wildfire. According to Upthegrove, the fire season has already resulted in more than 600 wildfires in the state, with more than 400 on state-owned land. "We're heading into the Fourth of July weekend, and as families prepare to barbecue and go camping and have fun together, this also often means fireworks," Upthegrove said Wednesday, noting that fireworks caused 270 fires across the state in 2024. "And so, as folks go into this weekend, let's have fun, but let's be safe with fireworks." Recent wildland fire forecast maps from the National Interagency Coordination Center show that the state faces an "above-normal" threat for "significant wildland fire potential" through September. According to the forecast, the increased threat is partially attributed to a lack of rain and a rapidly decreasing snowpack. "Regional snowpack continued rapid melting at rates faster than average through May, given mild temperatures and no significant reinforcing precipitation," the outlook states. "Very few basins are holding snow cover at or above their end-of-May daily averages." Under state law, fireworks are prohibited on all state-owned land, including state parks and land managed by the Department of Natural Resources. Fireworks are similarly prohibited on federal land, including national forests and national parks. Upthegrove also advised those who are camping to ensure that their campfires are completely put out and that they safely park away from tall grass.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Oregon wildfires have already burned 20,000 acres and destroyed 56 homes. What's next?
It's been a busy and destructive start to Oregon's wildfire season. Two state parks have already been evacuated by fast-moving wildfires, 56 homes have been destroyed, and 20,300 acres have burned in more than 400 fires — mostly east of the Cascades. Rafters on the popular John Day River have twice found themselves floating through the middle of an active blaze. Residents of The Dalles have seen their neighborhood reduced to rubble. At one point, Interstate 84 was closed due to wildfire activity. 'What's striking is the size of the fires we've seen this early in the season,' Oregon Department of Forestry wildfire spokeswoman Jessica Neujahr said. 'It's not unusual for us to have wildfires in June, especially on the east side of the state, but to have them this large and just back-to-back-to-back is unusual." Neujahr said the fires also are an indicator of what to expect the rest of the season. High fire danger is expected to persist across the entire summer and into fall. The fires Neujahr referenced include the Rowena Fire (3,700 acres in The Dalles), the Ferry Fire (10,500 acres southeast of Wasco) and the Alder Spring Fire (3,442 acres northeast of Redmond). The Rowena Fire was human-caused and the cause of the other two remain under investigation. The Upper Applegate Fire roared to life, burning 470 acres and brought evacuations to the southwest Oregon town of Ruch on June 18. On June 19, the 5-acre Rice Fire prompted evacuations in Mapleton, located in the Coast Range. The good news is that rain and showers are forecast across the entire state through June 22. Upward of an inch is forecast for the Willamette Valley, and 2 inches is possible in the Cascade Range. East of the Cascades, about 0.2 to 0.4 inches is forecast. 'We're hoping for a bit of a reprieve — a gap from the large fires coming one after the other,' Neujahr said. 'But it certainly doesn't mean we can get complacent.' A combination of factors has led to the large wildfires seen so far this year. A wet winter led to the rapid growth of fuels like grasses in eastern Oregon, which then dried out rapidly under hot and dry spring conditions. 'The wind has been a major factor,' Neujahr said. 'For the grass fuels, it takes winds of just 10 mph to carry that fire and spread. On the fires we're seeing at Rowena (and Ferry), winds have been gusting over 30 mph.' And, Neujahr stressed, many of Oregon's early-season wildfires have been human-caused. Wildfire danger is forecast to stay above normal all summer in Oregon and the Pacific Northwest, according to the National Interagency Coordination Center. In July, wildfire danger will be above normal across the east side of the state, while in August and September, forecasts call for above-normal fire danger in every corner of Oregon, Washington, and Northern California. The main reason is that forecasts indicate hotter and drier conditions than normal across the length of summer, combined with an elevated risk of thunderstorms arriving from monsoonal moisture in the southwest. "We are preparing for what is likely to be an even more aggressive and increasingly difficult to control wildfire season this year," Gov. Tina Kotek said at a May 7 news conference. While larger wildfires have started breaking out east of the Cascades, fire season on the state's west side hasn't kicked into gear yet. And rain and cooler temperatures should help push off major fire season for a few weeks in the Willamette Valley. Most of northwest Oregon moves into fire season at the end of June or early July, and that remains on track, Neujahr said. The amount of acres burned so far this season, 20,300, is above the 10-year average of about 13,000 acres. It comes after Oregon set a record for the number of acres burned in 2024. However, 2023, 2021 and 2016 each had more acres burned before June 18. That said, none of those years had fires nearly as destructive as this year. The Rowena Fire burned 56 homes and more than 90 total structures, while the Ferry Fire burned Cottonwood Canyon State Park. Alder Springs was threatening Crooked River Ranch and has brought evacuations and closures to Cove Palisades State Park. It wasn't that long ago that climatologists were celebrating Oregon being free of drought and abnormal dryness for the first time since 2019. Oregon has had above normal precipitation statewide, and the snowpack was in excellent shape all winter, leading to one of the best ski seasons in recent memory. So what happened? April, May and much of June have been warmer and drier than normal. "That warm and sunny weather drove a ton of evaporation, which really dried out our soils," state climatologist Larry O'Neill said. "It happened so fast that it's almost like we didn't actually have a good winter." One of the most intriguing questions of the season centers on what happens in the Southwest. NOAA has forecasted "above normal" chances for an active monsoon season in Arizona. That matters for Oregon because during the summer heat, moisture from monsoons often travels north and causes thunderstorms. The thunderstorms can be a blessing or a curse. Sometimes, they bring storms with dry lightning that ignites hundreds of small fires, overwhelming even well-prepared crews. At other times, they bring much-needed moisture that not only prevents lightning strikes from igniting wildfires, but also helps tamp down the ongoing wildfire season. Both scenarios have happened multiple times the past five years. "This year monsoon season is expected to come on stronger than usual," John Saltenberger, the fire program manager at the Northwest Interagency Coordination Center, told the Statesman Journal in May. "Whether that results in wet or dry storms is always an open question." While issues like drought, monsoons and warm temperatures can set the stage for wildfire season, the season really comes down to two key factors — lightning strikes and east-wind events. Virtually all of western Oregon's major wildfire blowups, including the 1933 Tillamook Burn, 2020 Labor Day fires and 2022 Cedar Creek explosion, have been fueled by major east wind events. When Oregon gets them, and there are wildfires on the landscape, it tends to be a bad fire year. When Oregon doesn't get them, or they arrive at times when there aren't fires on the landscape, the state can escape fire season in decent shape. Zach Urness has been an outdoors reporter in Oregon for 18 years and is host of the Explore Oregon Podcast. He can be reached at zurness@ or (503) 399-6801. Find him on X at @ZachsORoutdoors and BlueSky at This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Oregon wildfires: 20,000 acres burned, 56 homes destroyed so far
Axios
11-04-2025
- Politics
- Axios
Western lawmakers aim to confront wildfire crisis through joint legislation
A bipartisan group of lawmakers in the West is introducing a bill to combat "catastrophic" wildfires and overhaul forest management. Why it matters: Climate change and drought are causing wildfires to become more intense, widespread and harder to put out. The legislation comes after the Los Angeles County blazes in January were called one of the costliest wildfire events in U.S. history, with estimated damages reaching up to $131 billion. State of play: Some highlights of the Fix Our Forests Act — sponsored by Sens. John Curtis (R-Utah), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.) and Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) —are: Reducing wildfire risks in certain areas with more cross-boundary collaboration. Creating an interagency program to help communities build wildfire-resistant measures. Increasing research to test and utilize wildfire prevention technologies. By the numbers: 1,244 wildfires were reported in Utah in 2024, up 54% from 2023, according to data provided by Curtis' office. In 2024, Utah saw the highest number of wildfire reports the state has seen since 2020. Zoom out: Nationally, almost 9 million acres burned in 2024 due to wildfires, a 231% increase compared to 2.7 million acres burned in 2023. The northwestern U.S. led the nation in acres burned last year, according to wildfire statistics provided by the National Interagency Coordination Center. What they're saying:"Utah and the American West are on the front lines of a growing wildfire crisis — and the longer we wait, the more acres will burn and more families will be impacted," Curtis said in a statement. Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, who is backing the legislation, said the bill would "help us protect watersheds, enhance wildlife habitat, reduce wildfire risk and provide the timber we need to build strong homes and neighborhoods." Yes, but: Despite Utah being prone to wildfires, attitudes toward climate change vary across the state. The big picture: Climate anxiety is concentrated in big U.S. metros and some coastal communities, Axios' Alex Fitzpatrick writes. Many major metro areas, like Salt Lake City, show a relatively higher climate concern compared to their surrounding areas, recent estimates find. Zoom in: About 71% of adults in Salt Lake said they were "worried" about climate change, per Yale Program on Climate Change Communication estimates based on survey data.
