Red flag warning issued as Oregon faces a summer of extreme wildfire danger
Oregon’s wildfire danger has increased significantly in the short and long term, ramping up for the Fourth of July and the rest of summer.
A red flag warning has been issued for the Willamette Valley through Wednesday due to extreme heat, high winds, low relative humidity and unstable conditions. Fireworks could bring new ignitions that spread rapidly, officials said.
“Conditions may be favorable for rapid spread on any new or existing fires,” the National Weather Service in Portland wrote. “Extreme fire behavior is possible.”
Fire danger is already reaching high levels across all of the Northwest, as the 40-acre Moon Mountain Fire brings evacuation alerts in Eugene and the 533-acre Tunnel 5 Fire has burned at least 10 homes and brought evacuations on the Washington side of the Columbia River Gorge.
Fire officials implored Oregonians to be careful with fireworks and stressed that they're illegal on federal and state forestlands.
Fire danger extends into the summer
The high fire danger is unlikely to subside anytime soon.
All of northwest Oregon and much of Central Oregon moved into “above normal” fire danger for July while a majority of the state will be at above-normal risk for August.
The upgrades follow an extremely hot and dry late spring and early summer across the state, with long-term forecasts predicting more of the same for the rest of the summer and into autumn.
Despite a snowy winter — and some signs of a moderate start to fire season — the excess moisture has quickly dried up.
Campfires are still allowed in many recreation areas — at least on the western side of the state — but limits on flames are likely to be enacted soon.
For now, though, fire officials are imploring Oregonians to be careful with fireworks.
“We want the public to be extra prepared when visiting the forest and be mindful of the drier weather conditions,” said Eric Miller, acting fire staff officer for the Northwest Oregon Interagency Fire Management Organization. “We appreciate the public’s support to help us prevent human-caused fire starts.”
Zach Urness has been an outdoors reporter in Oregon for 15 years and is host of the Explore Oregon Podcast. To support his work, subscribe to the Statesman Journal. Urness is the author of “Best Hikes with Kids: Oregon” and “Hiking Southern Oregon.” He can be reached at zurness@StatesmanJournal.com or (503) 399-6801. Find him on Twitter at @ZachsORoutdoors.
This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Red flag warning issued as Oregon faces extreme wildfire danger
