#ORwildfire Archives - Northwest Public Broadcasting

Dry conditions and wind fuel Northwest wildfires

By Anna King July 6, 2023

Aircraft flying recently on the Tunnel Five Fire in the Columbia River Gorge. (Courtesy: InciWeb) Read There’s a red flag warning and heat advisories in place throughout several areas of… Continue Reading Dry conditions and wind fuel Northwest Read More

Despite What The Logging Industry Says, Cutting Down Trees Isn’t Stopping Catastrophic Wildfires

By NWPB News January 2, 2021

Oregon State University researcher Chris Dunn next to a Douglas fir, which burned in Oregon’s September 2020 fires and was later cut down by fire crews who considered it a safety hazard. CREDIT: Jes Burns/OPB

In the decades since government restrictions reduced logging on federal lands, the timber industry has promoted the idea that private lands are less prone to wildfires, saying that forests thick with trees fuel bigger, more destructive blazes. But an analysis by OPB and ProPublica shows last month’s fires burned as intensely on private forests with large-scale logging Read More

Riding The Ski Lift…To Fire. How Quick Action Helped Mount Hood While Northwest Flames Raged

By Courtney Flatt September 19, 2020

Fire crews rode an express chairlift at Mount Hood Meadows to more easily reach a fire burning in the ski area's expert-level terrain on Sept. 7, 2020.

Close communication with the Forest Service helped save one Mount Hood ski resort on Labor Day, when fire danger was critical and fires sparked and grew fast all round the Northwest. Employees at Mount Hood Meadows saw a social media post of a plume of smoke. Read More

Before Labor Day, The Northwest Fire Season Hadn’t Been ‘So Bad.’ Then… What Happened?

By Scott Leadingham September 17, 2020

Information on public fire danger signs comes from the Nation Fire Danger Rating System, which is being updated for the first time in more than four decades. CREDIT: JACOB FRANK/NPS

Nearly 300,000 acres in Washington burned in just one day over Labor Day weekend. That is almost unfathomable. But it happened. Why? What were the conditions that made for that explosive situation? Continue Reading Before Labor Read More

‘The Thing I Dread The Most Is Not Knowing’: At Least 24 Dead In West Coast Wildfires

By NPR News September 12, 2020

A couple embrace Thursday, Sept. 10, 2020, while touring an area devastated by the Almeda Fire in Phoenix, Ore. John Locher/AP

One hundred large fires are burning in 12 states across the West — but just five of them have been contained, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. Continue Reading ‘The Thing I Dread The Most Is Not Read More

Milk-Shaken: Moving Northwest Dairy Cows Out Of Wildfire Danger Is Not Fun

By Anna King September 11, 2020

With widespread wildfires across the Northwest, dairy farmers have to make the difficult decision to move hundreds of cattle to safer ground or stay put.

With at least two dozen Oregon dairies threatened by raging wildfires, farmers are grappling with the delicate task of moving them to safer ground — or staying put. Continue Reading Milk-Shaken: Moving Northwest Dairy Cows Out Of Read More

Goats, Llamas, Tortoise: All Welcome, Some Stressed As Fairgrounds Become Fire Evacuation Centers

By Anna King September 11, 2020

Thousands of animals, including a tortoise, are housed at the Oregon State Fairgrounds as people have fled their homes from encroaching wildfires this week. Courtesy of Kim Grewe-Powell

Widespread wildfires across the Northwest are causing owners to evacuate more than 2,000 pets and livestock into fairgrounds, friends’ properties and even across state lines. Continue Reading Goats, Llamas, Read More

Windy, Dry Weekend Ups Wildfire Potential, As Crews Watch How Palmer Fire Lines Will Fare

By Courtney Flatt August 28, 2020

The Palmer Fire in Okanogan County, southwest of Oroville, seen from the Aeneas Mountain Lookout Tuesday evening, Aug. 18, 2020. Smoke from a fire in nearby British Columbia is also visible.

A dry cold front is expected to push into central and eastern Washington this weekend, bringing with it lots of wind from the north. That could fan the flames of fires, especially new starts that are just taking off. Winds could reach 15 to 25 miles per hour, with gusts around 40 miles per hour. Read More

Lightning Sparks Dozens Of Large Oregon Wildfires

By Kristian Foden-Vencil August 25, 2020

The Chetco Bar Fire remained relatively quiet for its first month before exploding into Oregon's largest wildfire. Courtesy of Chetco Bar Fire incident command team

Over the past week, thousands of lightning strikes have sparked more than a dozen large wildfires in Oregon. For example, five fires are burning around the Warm Springs Reservation. Continue Reading Lightning Sparks Dozens Of Large Oregon WildfiresRead More

Growing Human-Caused Wildfire Threatens Homes In Columbia River Gorge

By NWPB News August 14, 2020

The Mosier Creek Fire near Mosier, Oregon, began Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2020. State officials say it was human caused. CREDIT: Oregon Dept. of Forestry

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown invoked the Emergency Conflagration Act late Wednesday night in response to the fire, which was burning about 500 acres at the time in the Mosier Creek area of the Columbia River Gorge, between Hood River and The Dalles. Read More