‘Hotter and drier’ June may worsen wildfire outlook, Oregon Department of Forestry says

MOSIER, Ore. (KOIN) — As the wildfire season continues to grow, Oregon state and federal officials provided an update Friday morning on what residents can expect heading into summer.

Those talks come after the state saw a handful of brush fires this week, with some even sparking evacuations.

In Mosier, the earth was left scorched following the Cherry Hill fire on Wednesday. Oregon Department of Forestry said crews will continue to monitor until there is no more heat or smoke. This comes as state and federal officials told lawmakers to brace for another hot and dry season.

One crew member on the ground said the wildfire season is off to an early start.

“I want people just to be aware of the situation we’re facing in the pre-season, and it’s only going to get worse,” said ODF Wildland Fire Supervisor for The Dalles Phillip Raffely.

U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley of Oregon received an update on the upcoming fire season. Fire officials said staff levels look strong but warn weather outlooks are potentially dangerous.

“We have hotter, drier summers, so this is not an issue that is going to go away,” Merkley said.

At least three brushfires sparked this week in Oregon, sparking more than 2,000 acres combined.

On Sunday, the Butte Creek wildfire broke out in Wheeler County, north of Clarno. Central Oregon Fire said the 1,700-acre fire was about 20% contained on Wednesday.

When the Cherry Hill fire broke out in Mosier on Wednesday, crews on the ground say it was caused by a burn that got out of control.

“I got on scene and it was already well underway, spreading into the wildland,” said ODF Forest Officer for the Dalles Kyle Albright.

Albright, one of the first people on the scene, said it was his fifth fire this year.

“The winds played a role in the evacuations due to fire history in the area,” Albright said.

William Belser was previously under the evacuation order in Mosier.

“That’s like the third or fourth one (fire). It’s just now drying out so it doesn’t take much for this stuff to take off,” Belser said.

Due to the fast action of firefighters, the fire was contained and evacuations lifted just hours after it started. Days later, crews were still out Friday, mopping up hotspots.

On Thursday, ODF was back out to help extinguish the Rowena Fire off of I-84, knocking down the blaze into a mop-up phase in less than 30 minutes.

“It’s not unprecedented to have some pre-season fires, things like this. I’m just hoping that, moving forward, we don’t have as many starts. You know, being May, kind of trying to forecast what June is going to look like, we just know it’s going to be hotter and drier,” Raffely said.

This weekend is expected to be particularly dry and windy. ODF said it may be best to avoid burning anything, especially as bans go into effect next week. If people do burn anything, ODF said they should make sure the fire is fully out before walking away.