Wildfire conditions roar back

Firefighters have harnessed the temporary break of cooler weather and no new lightning fires to add miles and miles of new containment lines across nearly 30 large wildfires on national forests in Oregon and Washington. But after just a short 72-hour reprieve, wildfire conditions across much of the Pacific Northwest are set to come roaring back.

“August is showing us nothing but hot, dry, windy conditions and dry lightning all in the first week,” said Ed Hiatt, Pacific Northwest Assistant Fire Director for Operations. “Exhausted crews finally caught a much-needed weather break, but this wildfire year is going to get worse before it gets better.”

There are currently 26 large wildfires burning on national forests spanning from Southern Oregon to the Canadian Border. While some fires received rains from the recent weather shift, most wildfires east of the Cascades received little to no moisture and are primed to ramp back up as fire conditions worsen into the weekend.

“We’ve already got hundreds of thousands of acres of active fire out there right now,” added Hiatt. “With the forecasted winds, triple-digit heat, and more dry lightning, it’s going to be yet another challenging week for firefighters.”

In addition to these conditions, the incoming weather system may also support the growth of large smoke columns from any new and existing wildfires. Lightning potential is greatest Saturday in far Southern Oregon and expands Sunday into almost all of Eastern Oregon from Bend into the Blues and into far northern areas of Central Washington.

Be smoke-ready this summer by preparing yourself, your loved ones, and your workplace for wildfire-related air quality impacts with low and no-cost resources at http://www.airnow.gov/wildfires/be-smoke-ready