The 2015 Oregon wildfires were an ongoing series of wildfires affecting parts of the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

Background

"Fire season" in Oregon typically begins in mid-May and ends with the first rains that normally begins in late September.

Drought A drought is a period of drier-than-normal conditions.Douville, H., K. Raghavan, J. Renwick, R.P. Allan, P.A. Arias, M. Barlow, R. Cerezo-Mota, A. Cherchi, T.Y. Gan, J. Gergis, D. Jiang, A. Khan, W. Pokam Mba, D. Rosenfeld, J. Tierney, ...

snowpack Snowpack is an accumulation of snow that compresses with time and melts seasonally, often at high elevation or high latitude. Snowpacks are an important water resource that feed streams and rivers as they melt, sometimes leading to flooding. Snow ...

levels, and local weather conditions play a role in Oregon's fire season, particularly in

Eastern Eastern or Easterns may refer to: Transportation Airlines *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai * Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 192 ...

and Southwest Oregon. During peak fire season from July to September, most wildfires are caused by

lightning Lightning is a natural phenomenon consisting of electrostatic discharges occurring through the atmosphere between two electrically charged regions. One or both regions are within the atmosphere, with the second region sometimes occurring on ...

, while ignitions in the early and later parts of the season are related to humans. Warm, dry conditions in summer heighten the wildfire risk. After over 100 years of fire suppression and prevention of all fires, there is now an abundance of fuel.

Climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...

is leading to a reduced snowpack with an earlier and reduced

snowmelt In hydrology, snowmelt is surface runoff produced from melting snow. It can also be used to describe the period or season during which such runoff is produced. Water produced by snowmelt is an important part of the annual water cycle in many part ...

, so there is a higher risk for areas that receive wildfires.

August fire

The August fire was reported on August 22, 2015, east of

Banks A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. As banks ...

. It was fully contained by August 24. It was suspected to be human-caused. One firefighter was injured. Three

aircraft An aircraft ( aircraft) is a vehicle that is able to flight, fly by gaining support from the Atmosphere of Earth, air. It counters the force of gravity by using either Buoyancy, static lift or the Lift (force), dynamic lift of an airfoil, or, i ...

were used, taking water from Henry Hagg Lake, which led to its closure for recreational purposes. An estimated were part of the burn, and 60 firefighters were needed. Highway 26 was closed for several days.

Cornet-Windy Ridge fire

The Cornet-Windy Ridge fire has burned more than on public forest and private lands a few miles west of Durkee. As of August 23, 2015, the fire was 80 percent contained.

Eldorado fire

The Eldorado fire, which was caused by lightning, has burned more than of land southeast of

Unity Unity is the state of being as one (either literally or figuratively). It may also refer to: Buildings * Unity Building, Oregon, Illinois, US; a historic building * Unity Building (Chicago), Illinois, US; a skyscraper * Unity Buildings, Liverpoo ...

. As of August 23, 2015, the fire was 65 percent contained.

Stouts fire

The human-caused Stouts fire has burned 26,000 acres east of Canvyonville, just south of

Milo Milo may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Milo (magazine), ''Milo'' (magazine), a strength sports magazine * ''Milo: Sticky Notes and Brain Freeze'', a 2011 children's novel by Alan Silberberg * Milo (video game), ''Milo'' (video game) * Milo ( ...

. As of August 23, 2015, the wildfire was 83 percent contained.

Willamina Creek fire

The Willamina Creek fire, occurring north of Willamina, has burned in "heavy fuels on high-value timberland owned by the Bureau of Land Management and private industrial forestland owners". As of August 23, 2015, the fire was 20 percent contained.

Smoke in the Willamette Valley

Wildfire smoke from

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

and Oregon was blown west over western Oregon, including

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: *Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...

and the rest of the

Willamette Valley The Willamette Valley ( ) is a valley in Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. The Willamette River flows the entire length of the valley and is surrounded by mountains on three sides: the Cascade Range to the east, the ...

, on August 22–23, 2015. File:Portland skyline during 2015 Oregon wildfires - Big Pink, Portland sign from Burnside Bridge.jpg, Portland skyline during 2015 Oregon wildfires - seen are the U.S. Bancorp Tower and

White Stag sign The White Stag sign, also known as the "Portland Oregon" sign, is a lighted neon-and- incandescent-bulb sign located atop the White Stag Building, at 70 NW Couch Street in downtown Portland, Oregon, United States, facing the Burnside Bridge. Th ...

from the

Burnside Bridge The Burnside Bridge is a 1926-built bascule bridge that spans the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon, United States, carrying Burnside Street. It is the second bridge at the same site to carry that name. It was added to the National Register o ...

File:Portland skyline during 2015 Oregon wildfires - Burnside Bridge.jpg, Portland skyline and the Burnside Bridge File:Portland skyline from Mt. Tabor during 2015 Oregon wildfires - sunset 02.jpg, Portland skyline from Mt. Tabor at sunset

References

{{2015 wildfires 2015 in Oregon 2015 wildfires in the United States Wildfires in Oregon by year