U.S. Forest Service photo A towering plume of smoke from the 2021 Gales Fire north of Oakridge.
Salem Statesman Journal
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.
What restrictions are in place now?
The move from moderate to high fire danger triggers some additional restrictions on power-driven equipment like chainsaws, mowers and weed eaters. Those and any other equipment that creates sparks are prohibited between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m.
Other wildfire prevention restrictions in place now include:
- No fireworks on or within 1/8th of a mile of Oregon Department of Forestry-protected land.
- Burning of debris, which includes piles and in burn barrels, is prohibited.
- Exploding targets and tracer ammunition, or any bullet with a pyrotechnic charge in its base, is also not allowed.
- Campfires are allowed only in designated locations.
- Portable stoves that use liquefied or bottled fuels can only be used in areas that don’t have dry vegetation.
- Including motorcycles and all-terrain vehicles, motorized vehicles are allowed only on improved roads.
- Smoking while traveling is allowed only in enclosed vehicles on improved roads, boats on the water and other designated locations.
George Custer lives in Oakridge with his wife Sayre. George is a former smokejumper from his hometown of Cave Junction, a former captain in the U.S. Marine Corps. and ran a construction company in Southern California. George assumed the volunteer duties as the Editor of the Highway 58 Herald in 2022. He loves riding his Harley-Davidson motorcycle, building all things wood, and playing drums on the weekends in his office.
