2021 Oregon wildfires

The 2021 Oregon wildfire season began in May 2021.[2] More than 1,000 fires had burned at least 518,303 acres (209,750 ha) across the state as of July 21, 2021.[3][4][5] As of August 1, it was expected that the fires might not be contained for months.[6]

2021 Oregon wildfires
The fire in Ponina on April 18, 2021
Statistics
Total fires1,661
Total area827,596 acres (334,916 ha)
Date(s)
May 15, 2021–January 12, 2022
Deaths1[1]
Season
← 2020
2022 →

The wildfire season in Oregon experienced an early start due to an abnormally dry spring coupled with low snowpack levels amid an ongoing drought.[7] The 2021 season has been outpacing the destructive previous season, with nearly 10 times as many acres have burned as of July 20 compared to the previous year through that date, according to the NIFC's Northwest Coordination Center.[3]

Background

Oregon has been experiencing increasingly large fire seasons over the last few decades, with the preceding 2020 wildfire season being one of the most destructive in the state's history.[8] As with much of the rest of the Western United States,[9] fire officials were predicting another above-average season in 2021 due to expected low precipitation and high temperatures.[8][10] The state's declaration of the start of wildfire season in mid-May marked the earliest start to a fire season in the state in over 40 years.[2][7] In preparation for the wildfire season, forest officials performed prescribed burns[10] and state lawmakers worked on wildfire-mitigation legislation designed to create wildfire risk maps, update building codes, and create new rules related to defensible space around homes in the wildland–urban interface.[5]

List of wildfires

The following is a list of fires that burned more than 1,000 acres (400 ha), or produced significant structural damage or casualties.

Name County Acres Start date Containment date Notes Ref
Ponina Klamath1,641April 18April 23Lightning-sparked[11][12]
Dry Creek Wallowa1,564June 4June 30Lightning-sparked[13][14]
Joseph Canyon Wallowa, Asotin (WA)7,610June 4July 15Lightning-sparked[15][16]
S-503 Wasco6,822June 18August 18Unknown cause, 3 injuries[17][16]
Cutoff Klamath1,288June 19June 30Unknown cause, 22 structures destroyed, 1 injury[18][19][16][20]
Wrentham Market Wasco7,222June 29July 3Unknown cause, 2 structures destroyed[21][16][22]
Rattlesnake Wasco, Jefferson5,479June 30August 4Unknown cause[16][23]
Ryegrass 0444 RS Crook1,102June 30July 4Lightning-sparked[16][24]
Upton Harney1,500July 1July 3Lightning-sparked[16][14]
Jack Douglas24,165July 5November 29Human-caused, 18 injuries[25][26][16]
Bootleg Klamath, Lake413,717July 6August 14Lightning-sparked, merged with the Log Fire on July 19, 408 structures destroyed, 342 vehicles destroyed,[27] 20 injuries. It was the largest wildfire in the United States in the 2021 wildfire season, until it was overtaken by the Dixie Fire in Northern California in early August.[16][25][28] [29][30]
Grandview Jefferson, Deschutes6,032July 11July 25Unknown cause, 3 injuries[16][31][32]
Log Lake, Klamath16,337July 12August 14Unknown cause, merged with the Bootleg Fire on July 19[16]
Elbow Creek Wallowa22,960July 15September 24Unknown cause, 6 structures destroyed, 8 injuries[16][33][34]
Deep Creek 0685 RN Wasco1,250July 29August 3Lightning-sparked[16][35]
Middle Fork Complex Lane30,928July 29January 12Unknown cause, 2 injuries, 1 firefighter fatality.[1] The complex consists of 12 individual fires, of which the largest are the Gales Creek Fire and the Kwis Fire.[16][36]
Rough Patch Complex Lane50,563July 29November 29Lightning-sparked. The complex consists of 19 individual fires, of which the largest is the Chaos Fire.[16][37]
Skyline Ridge Complex Douglas5,760August 1August 30Lightning-sparked. The complex consists of numerous individual fires, of which the largest are the Poole Fire and the Dismal Creek 210 Fire Fire.[16][38]
Bull Complex Marion24,894August 2November 19Lightning-sparked, 1 structure destroyed. Formerly referred to as the Janus Complex. The complex consists of 5 individual fires, of which the largest are the Janus Fire, the Ridge Fire, and the Kola Fire.[16][39]
Black Butte Grant22,445August 3September 27Lightning-sparked, 6 injuries[16][40][41]
Devil's Knob Complex Douglas70,110August 3October 19Lightning-sparked, 1 structure destroyed. The complex consists of 52 individual fires.[16][42]
Fox Complex Lake9,754August 13September 1Lightning-sparked, 4 structures destroyed. The complex consists of the Patton Meadow Fire and the Willow Valley Fire.[16][43][14]
Cougar Peak Lake91,810September 7October 21Unknown cause, 10 structures destroyed, 9 injuries[16][44]
Big Meadow Harney2,643September 9September 26Lightning-sparked, 3 injuries[16]

Response

At the end of July 2021, Governor Kate Brown signed a bill to invest $220 million in wildfire prevention, preparedness, and response.[45]

See also

References
  1. Krauss, Louis (August 25, 2021). "Updated: Firefighter killed working Gales Fire first to die in Oregon wildfire season". The Register-Guard. Retrieved August 25, 2021.
  2. "Fire season begins Saturday for some parts of Oregon". opb. Retrieved 2021-06-15.
  3. Goldwasser, Max (July 20, 2021). "'We haven't peaked yet': Oregon already outpacing historic, devastating 2020 wildfire season". KTVZ. Retrieved July 23, 2021.
  4. Stites, Sam; Samayoa, Monica (July 20, 2021). "'This is not going to return to normal anytime soon': Lightning could further fuel Oregon's active fire season". Oregon Public Broadcasting. Retrieved July 21, 2021.
  5. Stites, Sam (June 25, 2021). "Oregon takes an ambitious swing at addressing wildfire with proposed $190 million investment". Oregon Public Broadcasting. Retrieved June 28, 2021.
  6. Jones, Dustin (1 August 2021). "Western Wildfires May Take Weeks To Months To Contain". NPR.org. Archived from the original on 2021-08-01. Retrieved 2021-08-05.
  7. "Oregon Dept. of Forestry's C.O. District to declare fire season Saturday; earliest start in over 40 years". KTVZ. May 13, 2021. Retrieved July 21, 2021.
  8. Bull, Brian (May 7, 2021). "Decades Of Increasing Wildfire Destruction Finds Oregon On Brink Of Another Intense Season". KLCC (FM). Retrieved July 21, 2021.
  9. "Western states brace for 'very active wildfire season' following warm, dry winter". NBC News. 2 April 2021. Retrieved 2021-04-04.
  10. Bull, Brian (May 19, 2021). "2021's Wildfire Forecast Shows Steadily Rising Risk Level From May Into August". KLCC (FM). Retrieved July 21, 2021.
  11. "Ponina Fire near Klamath Falls, Oregon - Current Incident Information and Wildfire Map | Fire, Weather & Avalanche Center". FireWeatherAvalanche.org. Retrieved June 27, 2021.
  12. Gailey, Brian (April 23, 2021). "Full containment expected later today on Ponina Fire". Klamath Falls News. Retrieved June 28, 2021.
  13. "Dry Creek Fire Information". InciWeb. June 11, 2021.
  14. "2021 Large Incidents Year-to-Date (ICS-209)" (PDF). Northwest Interagency Coordination Center. July 6, 2021. Retrieved July 7, 2021.
  15. "Joseph Canyon Fire Information". InciWeb. June 11, 2021.
  16. "State of Oregon Fires and Hotspots Dashboard". June 30, 2021. Retrieved June 30, 2021.
  17. "S-503 Information". InciWeb. May 22, 2021.
  18. "Cutoff Fire Information". InciWeb. June 3, 2021.
  19. "Update from the Cutoff Fire for June 26, 2021". InciWeb. Retrieved June 28, 2021.
  20. "National Interagency Coordination Center Incident Management Situation Report Thursday, July 1, 2021– 0730 MDT National Preparedness Level 4" (PDF). nifc.gov. July 1, 2021. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
  21. "Wrentham Market Fire grows to 10K acres, Gov. Brown invokes Emergency Conflagration Act". KATU. June 30, 2021. Retrieved June 30, 2021.
  22. "Wrentham Market Fire Information". InciWeb. July 3, 2021. Retrieved July 3, 2021.
  23. "Rattlesnake Fire Information". InciWeb. July 3, 2021. Retrieved July 3, 2021.
  24. "National Interagency Coordination Center Incident Management Situation Report Monday, July 5, 2021– 0730 MDT National Preparedness Level 4" (PDF). nifc.gov. July 5, 2021. Retrieved July 7, 2021.
  25. "Evacuations called due to 1,500-acre fire east of Roseburg; new 3,000-acre fire on Fremont-Winema Forest". KTVZ. Associated Press. July 6, 2021. Retrieved July 6, 2021.
  26. "Jack Fire Information". InciWeb. July 6, 2021. Retrieved July 6, 2021.
  27. "Western wildfires calm down in cool weather, but losses grow". Associated Press. July 27, 2021. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
  28. "Bootleg Fire Information". InciWeb. July 18, 2021. Retrieved July 18, 2021.
  29. "Dixie Fire (CA) Information". InciWeb. August 6, 2021. Retrieved August 6, 2021.
  30. "National Interagency Coordination Center Incident Management Situation Report Sunday, August 15, 2021– 0730 MDT National Preparedness Level 5" (PDF). nifc.gov. August 15, 2021. Retrieved August 15, 2021.
  31. "Grandview Fire Information". InciWeb. July 12, 2021. Retrieved July 12, 2021.
  32. "National Interagency Coordination Center Incident Management Situation Report Monday, July 26, 2021– 0730 MDT National Preparedness Level 5" (PDF). nifc.gov. July 26, 2021. Retrieved July 26, 2021.
  33. "Elbow Creek Fire Information". InciWeb. July 16, 2021. Retrieved July 16, 2021.
  34. "National Interagency Coordination Center Incident Management Situation Report Thursday, August 12, 2021– 0730 MDT National Preparedness Level 5" (PDF). nifc.gov. August 12, 2021. Retrieved August 12, 2021.
  35. "Deep Creek Fire Information". InciWeb. August 1, 2021. Retrieved August 1, 2021.
  36. "Middle Fork Complex Fire Information". InciWeb. August 4, 2021. Retrieved August 4, 2021.
  37. "Rough Patch Complex Fire Information". InciWeb. August 6, 2021. Retrieved August 6, 2021.
  38. "Skyline Ridge Complex Fire Information". InciWeb. August 6, 2021. Retrieved August 6, 2021.
  39. "Bull Complex Fire Information". InciWeb. August 14, 2021. Retrieved August 14, 2021.
  40. "Black Butte Fire Information". InciWeb. August 6, 2021. Retrieved August 6, 2021.
  41. "National Interagency Coordination Center Incident Management Situation Report Wednesday, September 1, 2021– 0730 MDT National Preparedness Level 5" (PDF). nifc.gov. September 1, 2021. Retrieved September 1, 2021.
  42. "Devil's Knob Complex Fire Information". InciWeb. August 7, 2021. Retrieved August 7, 2021.
  43. "Fox Complex Fire Information". InciWeb. August 15, 2021. Retrieved August 15, 2021.
  44. "Cougar Peak Fire Information". InciWeb. September 10, 2021. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
  45. O'Connor, Lydia (2021-07-30). "Oregon Investing $220 Million To Handle Growing Wildfire Problem". HuffPost. Retrieved 2021-08-11.
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