By: Yvonne Liu

On Sunday, about 547,000 people in both Oregon and Washington state were under red flag warnings, the highest National Weather Service alert for conditions that may cause extreme fire. Several large fires burned in Oregon and half a million people were under fire risk warnings as a heatwave hit the region.

At the same time, thunderstorms were also moving across central and southeast Oregon and southern Washington. The mixture of dry conditions, lighting, and winds from the store could easily start and spread fires. A spokesperson for the Oregon State Fire Marshal, John Hendricks, said that the lighting forecast was extremely concerning, especially after weeks of hot, dry weather in the area, with there having been no significant amount of rain in weeks.

Currently in Oregon there are 22 fires burning, and 6 in Washington state. The fires covered more than 621,000 acres, according to the Northwest Interagency Coordination Center. The temperatures could hit over 110 degrees Fahrenheit, and more than 11 million people in Arizona, California, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon and Washington state were under excessive heat warnings on July 21.

“It’s not taking much for a spark to ignite a fire,” Mr. Hendricks said. Fires could be sparked by several causes, such as cars parked in dry grass, farm equipment, and debris piles that had been burning but never fully extinguished. Currently, there are several burning fires. The total of blazed acres was more than 424,000. Furthermore, 3,000 residents across Oregon were under evacuation orders, and 2,900 were in “significant” danger and may be asked to evacuate at any time. Another 6,500 residents should be packing, preparing to leave and paying attention to officials.

The Gov. of Oregon, Tina Kotek, said that this wildfire season has been “a very aggressive start” and that more than 100 fires started due to the lightning strikes, though fortunately, most of them did not grow. Firefighters from other nearby states have also been sent to help. “Our firefighters are working extremely hard to protect communities that are threatened by wildfires,” Mr. Hendricks said. “And we’re asking Oregonians to help us out by doing everything that they can to avoid sparking a human-caused fire.”

Conclusion: what next? What remains to be seen? What can be done to prevent these fires in future?

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/21/us/wildfires-lightning-oregon-washington.html

Image Credit by Yuri Meesen