Wildfire Season Is Already One of Most Severe in History

PORTLAND, Ore. – More than 1. 3 million acres are burning in the Pacific Northwest, where there are 46 large, uncontained fires. Oregon U.S. Senator Ron Wyden asked firefighting experts, “We’re still a long way from the end of the fire season. It used to be we were able to contain fires because there were smaller, fires. You didn’t have so many fires simultaneously. What I’m worried about now is we’re gonna have fires all over the West simultaneously as we go into August.  And I’m curious what your thoughts are in terms of how serious that is.”

Chief Travis Modema with the Oregon Department of State Fire Marshal answered, “Your intuition and your gut is spot on. A hundred percent, I think. This is 31 years all in Oregon in wildfire for myself. And we haven’t seen a fire season like this to date. That started this early and is going to have the longevity off this 2024 wildfire season.

He says the challenges and the conditions are not going to get better, and that means firefighters and the country have to be prepared even before fire season starts.

Shane DeForest, the Vale District Manager for the Bureau of Land Management, says it’s the prime time for wildfires.

“For us out here in southeastern Oregon most intense portion of our season is just beginning. The month of August is always the time where we get the most number of fires, where we burn the most acres. And nationally, it’s also the same time where a lot of fires are going on all over the place.”

But this year, he says, it’s much more severe.

“Our 10 year average, we have quadrupled the number of acres burned in our BLM district.  There’s going to be some more fires, potentially some additional megafire type situations.”