Oregon Forestry Declares Fire Season on June 15 Across 5 Northwest Districts
Updated
Updated · KATU · Jun 16
Oregon Forestry Declares Fire Season on June 15 Across 5 Northwest Districts
3 articles · Updated · KATU · Jun 16
Summary
June 15 marked the start of fire season in ODF’s Northwest Oregon Area, bringing Forest Grove, Tillamook, Astoria, North Cascade and West Oregon districts in line with the rest of the state.
Dry fuels, low snowpack and forecast conditions drove the declaration, and ODF said the Northwest area was the last district to enter fire season after Central Oregon opened on May 8.
16 million acres of private, county, state and federal land fall under ODF wildfire protection, including forests across 11 counties from Marion and Clackamas to Tillamook and Clatsop.
Human activity remains the bigger risk factor, officials said, with most wildfires people-caused; Portland has already banned recreational burning, and fire crews cited a recent house fire likely sparked by discarded smoking material.
Fire-season rules now bar activities including smoking in operation areas, some blasting uses, exploding targets and tracer ammunition near protected forestlands as Oregon braces for a busy summer.