Four Oregon megafires still burning after nearly 50 days
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – Oregon’s wildfire season continues to devastate parts of the state as four megafires remain burning after nearly 50 days.
A megafire, according to the U.S. Interagency Fire Center, is a wildfire that reaches a size of at least 100,000 acres. Of the 109 fires currently burning in Oregon, the Durkee, Falls, Lone Rock, and Monkey Creek fires have each reached this status.
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The longest-running megafire is the Falls Fire, which sparked July 10 in Harney County and quickly grew into a wildfire of devastating proportions. So far, the fire has destroyed 13 homes and 15 other buildings, injured 17 people, and killed one firefighting air tanker pilot.
Falls Fire
Start Location: Harney County
Time Burning: 56 days
Size: 151,689 acres
Containment: 100%
Lone Rock
Start Location: Gilliam County
Time Burning: 53 days
Size: 137,222 acres
Containment: 99%
Durkee
Start Location: Baker County
Time Burning: 49 days
Size: 294,265 acres
Containment: 99%
Monkey Creek
Start Location: Morrow County
Time Burning: 48 days
Size: 115,269 acres
Containment: 48%
The 2024 wildfire season is the largest since 2020, with a little less than one month of summer remaining. So far, these fires have consumed enormous areas of land, particularly in Eastern Oregon, but the fires are far less destructive than the 2020 Labor Day Fires.
- The Falls Fire seen burning in Eastern Oregon on July 20, 2024. (Inciweb)
- The Falls Fire. (Inciweb)
- (Gaston Rural Fire District)
- The Lee Falls Fire. (Gaston Rural Fire District)
- A column of fire rises from a burning tree within the Lone Rock Fire. (Inciweb)
- A firefighter works to secure the southwest corner of the Lone Rock Fire. (Inciweb)
- A group of firefighters protects structures on the Lone Rock Fire. (Inciweb)
- Firefighters working to contain the Durkee Fire in eastern Oregon. (Photo by Brook Smith, Southern Area Gold Team)
- A Bureau of Land Management Battalion Chief scouts ahead of the Durkee Fire burning in Easter Oregon on July 21. (Photo by Marcus Johnson, courtesy of Inciweb)
- The Durkee Fire burns alongside Interstate 84 in Eastern Oregon (ODOT)
- A firefighter slides down a fire line along a steep hillside on the Monkey Creek Fire in the Battle Mountain Complex. (Inciweb)
The 2020 fires killed 11 people and destroyed more than 4,000 homes. Meanwhile, Oregon’s 2024 fire season has caused one death and destroyed 36 homes, according to the State of Oregon Fires and Hotspots Dashboard.
However, fire season isn’t over yet, as a rare forecast of 100-degree temperatures for September is slated to hit on Thursday and possibly Friday, with the heat being paired with east winds, which fueled the 2020 Labor Day fires.
As these megafires rage on throughout the state, Oregon State Fire Marshal spokesperson John Hendricks said his teams have been on site of 14 emergency conflagrations this year.
“We had a little bit of a lull, and we don’t want folks to get complacent thinking that fire season is over,” Hendricks said. “We’ve got some triple-digit temperatures on the way, Red Flag Warnings. So we’re, we’re ready to go, in case anything does happen.”
Stay with KOIN 6 News as we continue our wildfire coverage.
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