JACKSON CO., Ore. –The Oregon Department of Forestry has announced the 2018 fire season will officially begin on June first. Along with the change, new restrictions will be put into place.
“Right now, we’re looking at an above average fire season which is why we’re implementing fire season restrictions June first,” ODF spokesperson Melissa Cano said. “Last year was a very busy fire season, and it was very busy because of how lightning, dependent we were.”
Cano noted that weather conditions are one of the factors that ODF considers when choosing a start date to the fire season. ODF also looks at wind, and how dry grass and other typical fire fuels are.
“Sometimes people think that, ‘oh, but it rained overnight,'” Cano said. “Well, that may not be enough rain to hold out very long, one dry day will take all that moisture away.”
While the official start to fire season is a week out, Cano says burn piles have already sparked some fires they’ve been called to.
“Those are some of the fires that we’ve been responding the most this time, people that let their debris burn piles get away from them, and we have to go and make sure we bring it back,” Cano said.
Between those calls and the conditions, firefighters are ready for another busy summer.
“We had about 350 fires total across the district, but of those 350 fires, it only burned 1,000 acres,” Cano said. “Our ten year average is 250 fires or so, burning 5,000 acres, so we were very successful, and we want to make sure that feeling of success reigns through to the 2018 fire season.”
And with thunderstorms in the forecast this week, ODF has firetrucks on standby for any sparks.
“We always ramp up our coverage,” Cano said. “Even though it’s not even fire season yet, we’re asking some of our folks to come on, staff some engines, and make sure we’re available to put out any lightning-started fires that happen.”
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