In this photo dated May 4, 2024, a Union hotshot watches the effects of a firing operation on the Little Yamsay Fire in Klamath County, Ore. Crews are managing the naturally occurring fire for forest health and fuels reduction.
Courtesy of Fremont-Winema National Forest / InciWeb
A forestry official says the 2024 Oregon wildfire season looks to be a moderate one so far.
Al De Vos is a public information officer with the Oregon Department of Forestry’s Incident Management Team 2. He told KLCC that at this point, the outlook between now and late June is fairly decent across Oregon, Washington and northern California.
“We’re looking pretty well in terms of snowpack and precipitation and whatnot,” said De Vos. “But a couple months in, there’s certain areas that are a little more on the dry side.”
De Vos said come summer, fire managers be doing weekly outlooks. He added that even in damp conditions, all it takes is a few days of sustained easterly winds to dry out terrain and make it susceptible to fire.
“So even though we have non-drought or normal precipitation conditions there are still fire risks out there,” he said.
Officials say it will be essential for campers to thoroughly put out their fires and abide by burning bans enacted by counties once the weather gets warmer.
One incident has already been reported this year in Oregon: the Little Yamsay Fire in Klamath County, though fire managers say the blaze is under control and is now being used as a prescribed burn.
Increasingly warm and dry conditions have been recorded through many parts of the Pacific Northwest in recent years. A particularly damp and heavy winter has helped alleviate drought conditions in many areas of Oregon.
