Oregon sets wildfire record

Oregon set a record last week for acres lost from wildfire, 1.49 million or 2,200 square miles, surpassing the 2012 total of 1.2 million acres. Nationwide it has been a disastrous year for wildfire, with 5.5 million acres burned through Sunday from 30,293 fires. This is more than double the 2.7 million acres lost in 2023 but down from the losses of 2021 and 2022 when over 7 million acres burned those years.

The largest single wildfire in the U.S. is the Durkee Fire in Oregon that merged Saturday with the Cow Valley fire. Oregon has the largest number of active large fires — 17 — that have already consumed 629,000 acres. Only one is contained.

Apart from some days of poor air quality, Sisters has been spared from raging fires — so far.