‘Pushed to the brink’: Oregon’s record wildfire season isn’t over yet; ODF says crews are spread thin even more into fall
Posted: October 01, 2024
BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — The McKenzie Pass Highway (Oregon Highway 240) west of Sisters reopened over the weekend, three weeks after wildfires in the area prompted its closure. It’s another sign of firefighters’ continued progress on the area’s blazes, despite warm weather lingering into the fall and other challenges.
But the 2024 wildfire season is definitely not over, as this week’s return to temperatures in the 80s confronting thousands of firefighters still on the lines makes clear.
“This was an extremely difficult fire season. We were strapped for resources essentially from the beginning of July,” Oregon Department of Forestry Public Information Officer Jessica Neujahr said Monday.
According to ODF, it’s cost the state $240 million to fight fires this year, with nearly 2 million acres burned so far in the state — five times last year’s and nearly double the 10-year average of 600,000 acres, fueled by record-breaking heat and drought conditions in the region.
