Oregon wildfire season: Conditions point to ‘brutal summer’

“The stage is set for what’s looking like a very critical fire season for the state of Oregon,” according to Dave Larson, the Southern Oregon Area Director for the Oregon Department of Forestry. 

“Wildfire is an all-Oregonian issue, and so we are preparing the best we can,” Larson told reporters Thursday, May 7, at the Springfield Interagency Office. 

A warm, dry winter is set to give way to significant fire potential in Oregon this summer, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. 

Oregon is experiencing a “snow drought” with well below normal snowpack. Warm, dry conditions are expected to continue this summer and push significant wildland fire potential to above normal across the entire state by August.

Larson said the Oregon Department of Forestry will have full staffing for the fire season, which is about 1,200 employees throughout the state, the same number as last year. A helicopter will be parked in Creswell for use by partner agencies in firefighting.

The department also is using funds earmarked by House Bill 3940 to increase landscape restoration projects, including prescribed fire. The bill, passed last year, created a new tax on oral nicotine products and directs funds to the state forestry department for wildfire risk reduction.

A grant program through the Oregon State Fire Marshal has provided 75 fire engines to rural fire departments throughout Oregon, including six in Lane County, said emergency response unit manager Dennis Lee.

The office also recently announced recipients for its 2026 wildfire season staffing grants, with 11 going to Lane County agencies. The grants provide up to $35,000 per agency “to spend through the summertime for additional staffing, which is critically important to smaller agency fire departments that don’t have a large budget and are trying to help with this fire scenario,” Lee said.

Larson said his department is coordinating with federal partners and expects to be fully staffed and ready for fire season.

“But as you look at that map there, with the amount of red and the amount of fires that could be in those regions, you can rapidly start running short on resources,” he said, referencing a map by the National Interagency Fire Center showing a growing fire potential outlook from May to August. 

Larson asked community members to be aware of what causes wildfires, noting that 80% of wildfires are caused by human activities, such as mowing, burning debris or dragging vehicle chains on the road. Larson suggested community members visit keeporegongreen.org for resources on fire prevention.

‘We need to be prepared’

U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden and U.S. Rep. Val Hoyle spoke to reporters on Thursday after receiving a briefing on the upcoming fire season. Wyden praised state and local officials, while criticizing the Trump administration for cuts to weather balloons used in forecasting and proposed reductions in forest research.

“What I hope we can do, the congressional delegation, is build up the partnership that we’ve always had between the state and the federal government in terms of fighting fire,” Wyden said. “It hasn’t been a political issue, frankly, until now, but now we’ve got all these reorganization plans, and we ought to be talking about ways in which we can bolster the fight against fire.”

The Trump administration has announced plans to move the U.S. Forest Service headquarters and consolidate research facilities. 

Hoyle stressed the importance of preparedness, including signing up for emergency alerts and maintaining defensible space around homes.

“What we need is we need to be prepared,” Hoyle said. “We need to do everything that we can to know that we’re living on a tinderbox, and we have to prepare and prevent wildfire as much as possible.”

She called the wildfire forecast “severe” and criticized reductions in staff at the Forest Service, saying that’s led to a buildup of burnable debris.

Lane County Commissioner Heather Buch asked community members to help their neighbors ensure their properties are safe.

“Fire season is going to occur earlier this year than we have seen in the past, so be prepared,” Buch said. 

She said the county is doing scenario-planning with community partners, including the sheriff’s office, which would issue evacuation notices if needed.

Wyden said he is focused on getting more federal resources.

“We’re looking at a brutal summer,” he said. “I don’t know any way other to describe it than that, and that’s what I’m focused on.”