ODF Responds to Over 100 Wildfires Across Southern and Eastern Oregon

Salem, Oregon- Firefighters with the Oregon Department of Forestry have responded to more than 100 new wildfires across southern and eastern Oregon since Monday, as dry conditions and increased human activity contribute to elevated fire activity across the state.

The new fire starts — a combination of lightning- and human-caused ignitions — have largely been contained to an average of about half an acre, due to ODF’s aggressive initial attack strategies.

In the Southern Oregon Area, which includes ODF-protected land from around Eugene south to the Medford area and California border west of the Cascades, crews have responded to 10 lightning-caused fires and 43 human-caused fires this week.

In the Eastern Oregon Area — which includes all ODF-protected land east of the Cascades — firefighters from the Klamath-Lake, Central Oregon, and Northeast Oregon Districts responded to more than 65 new fire starts, most of them sparked by lightning. Dry and windy conditions in the region have made suppression efforts more challenging.

ODF firefighters have also supported extended attack operations. The Central Oregon District helped stop the forward progression of the Grizzly Flat Fire, which burned 624 acres, and the 92-acre Larch Creek Fire. In the Klamath-Lake District, crews successfully contained the Bowers Bridge Fire, which reached 40 acres.

ODF officials continue to urge the public to follow fire safety regulations and remain vigilant, particularly as conditions remain favorable for fire starts across much of the state.