‘A lot of fire season left:’ Gov. Kotek urges caution ahead of Labor Day

Oregon’s wildfire peak typically lasts between July to September, but experts say dry winters and hot springs and summers are exacerbating conditions contributing to one of the most active wildfire seasons in state history.

More than 1,600 wildfires in Oregon this year have scorched roughly 2.5 million acres, a record since 2024. The fires have destroyed at least 36 homes and 80 other structures, according to the Oregon Department of Emergency Management’s Oregon Fires Dashboard. At least one fire, the Big Grass Fire along the Oregon-Idaho border, has a perimeter of more than 600 miles. 

Oregon has more than 9,000 personnel fighting those fires, the Oregon Journalism Project reported. 

Kotek flew over the Grasshopper and Austin fires located south of Mount Hood, as well as the Cottonwood fire between Sherman and Gilliam counties. Additionally, Kotek flew to Pendleton to visit Oregon National Guard troops, who she thanked for assisting with the state’s wildfire response since late July.

The National Guard is using six of its helicopters to put out wildfires in what are sometimes 30 flights a day. Troops have logged 350 flight hours and dropped 1,400 buckets carrying 1.5 million gallons of water since they were deployed to active wildfires in late July.

Oregon State Forester Kacey KC said the state has also relied heavily on the help of 52 firefighters from Australia and New Zealand who came to aid Oregon firefighters with the Grasshopper and Austin fires.

“Right now every geographical area across the U.S. is strained for resources, so normally the resources we rely on when we have a heavy fire season are not available,” KC said. 

Kotek praised the collaboration between international personnel, National Guard troops as well as state and federal firefighters. However, there’s still a lot of fire season left, she said. 

Kotek emphasized the need to remain cautious ahead of Labor Day, which she said is a particularly dangerous weekend for Oregon after Labor Day fires in 2020 burned more than 1 million acres, destroyed more than 5,000 homes and businesses and resulted in 11 deaths. 

“If you’re camping or doing anything on your property, please be fire safe,” Kotek said. “Do not start a fire. We’ve got a lot of people out fighting fires across our state.”

Human-caused fires account for 73% of all fires from 2000 to 2025, according to the Oregon Department of Forestry. 

“People are pretty tired. We have people who have been doing this for 35, 45, 50, 60 days,” Kotek said about the state’s firefighters. “Hopefully they can get a little bit of rest so they can stay on for the rest of the fire season.” 

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