Officials: Extreme heat, early fires ‘new normal’ in Oregon

The thermometer readings were “otherworldly,” said Oregon Health Authority Director Pat Allen.

“The reality is that such excessive and deadly conditions are here to stay,” Allen said.

Oregon’s death toll from the heat is currently more than 100, with at least another 32 still under investigation.

More than 800 people sought help from heat-related medical issues over the course of the scorching temps.

The heat wave added to 18 months of catastrophes that have hit Oregon.

Since early 2020, the state has had historic floods in eastern Oregon, the COVID-19 pandemic, wildfires that burned more than 1 million acres, smoke smothering the entire state, power outages from ice storms and a protracted drought that has reservoirs in some areas at a fraction of their designed capacity.

Andrew Phelps, director of the Office of Emergency Management, said the state had launched a review of the response to the heat wave. It’s an effort to alter expectations of both the public and officials as to what is “normal” when it comes to weather.

One question on the table: Why didn’t Gov. Kate Brown make an emergency declaration as the heat wave approached?

Phelps said he believed most people knew well ahead of time that the heat wave was coming and to take precautions. The emergency declaration would not have changed public agency responses.

“If you overuse a tool like an emergency declaration just to sound an alarm, it becomes white noise in the background,” Phelps said.

Fariborz Pakseresht, director of the Department of Human Services, said the state’s 211 phone information system had stumbled during the heat wave, with his agency’s staff confirming complaints that the call centers were understaffed on the weekend and didn’t have information callers sought about resources in their area.

The heat compounds years of drought conditions to create extreme fire risk around much of the state. Already, hundreds of thousands of acres have burned.

The officials did not address the status of the current fires in Oregon.

Most of the damage is being done by a trio of blazes in central and south Oregon.

The Bootleg Fire in sparsely populated Klamath County is the nation’s largest active wildfire at more than 300,000 acres, and is 25% contained. The fire has destroyed seven homes and 43 other structures. No injuries or fatalities have been reported as of July 19.

The Jack Fire in eastern Douglas County has burned an estimated 16,764 acres and injured eight people. The state’s official fire website reports no homes or structures as having burned and the fire is an estimated 35% contained as of July 18.

While most fires are knocked down before they grow to more than 10 acres, those that move rapidly can explode in a matter of hours.

The Grandview Fire near Sisters is 6,032-acres and 60% contained as of July 19.