PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — With 38 large, uncontained wildfires actively burning 838,908 acres of land across Oregon and Washington, the Northwest region is currently the top firefighting priority in the U.S.
Roughly 91.5% of the 838,908 acres burning across the region are located in Oregon, making the state the top firefighting concern in the region and the country. Daily reports released by the Northwest Interagency Coordination Center, which helps coordinate the deployment of firefighting resources in Oregon and Washington, show that the federal government has given the region the highest level of priority for receiving additional firefighters.
Northwest Interagency Coordination Center spokesperson Carol Connolly told KOIN 6 News that the northwest region’s wildfire attack reached “planning level five” on July 19. The “planning level five” designation means that all of Oregon and Washington’s firefighting teams are assigned to active wildfires, and that a high number of wildfires are also occurring across the U.S. When this happens, the Northwest Interagency Coordination Center can find itself competing for firefighting resources with the nine other Interagency Coordination Centers stationed around the U.S. These outside resources are distributed by the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho.
The “level five” stage also means that Oregon and Washington’s firefighting resources are stretched thin, which could potentially affect the region’s success in containing its wildfires. However, because the Northwest Interagency Coordination Center currently has the highest wildfire priority in the country, the region is also receiving the most help from out-of-area firefighters.
“[Having the highest priority] is a good thing, but it's also a bad thing,” Connolly said. “It means we have a lot of fires.”
As of Tuesday afternoon, 7,681 firefighters, 511 fire engines and 38 helicopters are assigned to fires in the Northwest region. More than 80% of the firefighters dispatched to the region are fighting fires in Oregon.
Four of the wildfires burning in Eastern Oregon are deemed “megafires” — fires that have burned at least 100,000 acres. The fires are the Durkee, Cow Valley, Falls, and Lone Rock Fires. The Durkee Fire, burning five miles southwest of Durkee, is now the state’s largest fire. As of Tuesday afternoon, the fire has grown nearly 240,000 acres.
So far, 17 homes have been destroyed by Oregon’s 2024 wildfire season. As of July 23, no known deaths have occurred as a result of Oregon and Washington's 2024 wildfire season.
