2021 Oregon wildfires
Natural disasters in the USA
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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]
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
"Fire season" in Oregon typically begins in mid-May and ends with the first rains that normally begins in late September. Drought, snowpack levels, and local weather conditions play a role in Oregon's fire season, particularly in Eastern and Southwest Oregon. During peak fire season from July to September, most wildfires are caused by lightning, while ignitions in the early and later parts of the season are related to humans. Warm, dry conditions in summer heighten the wildfire risk. After over 100 years of fire suppression and prevention of all fires, there is now an abundance of fuel. Climate change is leading to a reduced snowpack with an earlier and reduced snowmelt, so there is a higher risk for areas that receive wildfires.[8]
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.[9] As with much of the rest of the Western United States,[10] fire officials were predicting another above-average season in 2021 due to expected low precipitation and high temperatures.[9][11] 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[11] 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[a] | Notes | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ponina | Klamath | 1,641 | April 18 | April 23 | Lightning-sparked | [13][14] |
| Dry Creek | Wallowa | 1,564 | June 4 | June 30 | Lightning-sparked | [15][16] |
| Joseph Canyon | Wallowa, Asotin (WA) | 7,610 | June 4 | July 15 | Lightning-sparked | [17][18] |
| S-503 | Wasco | 6,822 | June 18 | August 18 | Unknown cause, 3 injuries | [19][18] |
| Cutoff | Klamath | 1,288 | June 19 | June 30 | Unknown cause, 22 structures destroyed, 1 injury | [20][21][18][22] |
| Wrentham Market | Wasco | 7,222 | June 29 | July 3 | Unknown cause, 2 structures destroyed | [23][18][24] |
| Rattlesnake | Wasco, Jefferson | 5,479 | June 30 | August 4 | Unknown cause | [18][25] |
| Ryegrass 0444 RS | Crook | 1,102 | June 30 | July 4 | Lightning-sparked | [18][26] |
| Upton | Harney | 1,500 | July 1 | July 3 | Lightning-sparked | [18][16] |
| Jack | Douglas | 24,165 | July 5 | November 29 | Human-caused, 18 injuries | [27][28][18] |
| Bootleg | Klamath, Lake | 413,717 | July 6 | August 14 | Lightning-sparked, merged with the Log Fire on July 19, 408 structures destroyed, 342 vehicles destroyed,[29] 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. | [18][27][30][31][32] |
| Grandview | Jefferson, Deschutes | 6,032 | July 11 | July 25 | Unknown cause, 3 injuries | [18][33][34] |
| Log | Lake, Klamath | 16,337 | July 12 | August 14 | Unknown cause, merged with the Bootleg Fire on July 19 | [18] |
| Elbow Creek | Wallowa | 22,960 | July 15 | September 24 | Unknown cause, 6 structures destroyed, 8 injuries | [18][35][36] |
| Deep Creek 0685 RN | Wasco | 1,250 | July 29 | August 3 | Lightning-sparked | [18][37] |
| Middle Fork Complex | Lane | 30,928 | July 29 | January 12 | Unknown 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. | [18][38] |
| Rough Patch Complex | Lane | 50,563 | July 29 | November 29 | Lightning-sparked. The complex consists of 19 individual fires, of which the largest is the Chaos Fire. | [18][39] |
| Skyline Ridge Complex | Douglas | 5,760 | August 1 | August 30 | Lightning-sparked. The complex consists of numerous individual fires, of which the largest are the Poole Fire and the Dismal Creek 210 Fire Fire. | [18][40] |
| Bull Complex | Marion | 24,894 | August 2 | November 19 | Lightning-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. | [18][41] |
| Black Butte | Grant | 22,445 | August 3 | September 27 | Lightning-sparked, 6 injuries | [18][42][43] |
| Devil's Knob Complex | Douglas | 70,110 | August 3 | October 19 | Lightning-sparked, 1 structure destroyed. The complex consists of 52 individual fires. | [18][44] |
| Fox Complex | Lake | 9,754 | August 13 | September 1 | Lightning-sparked, 4 structures destroyed. The complex consists of the Patton Meadow Fire and the Willow Valley Fire. | [18][45][16] |
| Cougar Peak | Lake | 91,810 | September 7 | October 21 | Unknown cause, 10 structures destroyed, 9 injuries | [18][46] |
| Big Meadow | Harney | 2,643 | September 9 | September 26 | Lightning-sparked, 3 injuries | [18] |
Response
At the end of July 2021, Governor Kate Brown signed a bill to invest $220 million in wildfire prevention, preparedness, and response.[47]
See also
Notes
- Containment means that fire crews have established and secured control lines around the fire's perimeter. These lines are artificial barriers, like trenches or cleared vegetation, designed to stop the fire's spread, or natural barriers like rivers. Containment reflects progress in managing the fire but does not necessarily mean the fire is starved of fuel, under control, or put out.[12]
