With above-average temperatures and severe drought expected this summer, Oregon and Washington are likely in for a bad fire season.
That was the upshot of a wildfire outlook presented to U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, during a Friday briefing in Portland.
But there was a glimmer of hope: Federal firefighting managers said their workforce is about where it needs to be for the fire season ahead. That’s despite the Trump administration’s efforts to downsize the federal government by slashing funding and firing workers — including those who support wildland firefighting.
“In terms of the operational firefighters, the hiring is in better shape than we’d feared a couple months ago,” Merkley said. “But we still have a lot of concerns about the management side and the support side for those firefighters.”
Ochoco National Forest supervisor Shane Jeffries told Merkley the U.S. Forest Service has budgeted 1,975 firefighters for the Pacific Northwest region — which is about as many firefighters as it had for last year’s record-breaking fire season. His colleagues are just 15 workers shy of filling those positions.
“There were some slowdowns early on,” Jeffries told Merkley. “I’m happy to report that we’re closing in on that in this part of the country.”
But Jeffries added a caveat: There remain shortages among non-fire staff who support wildland firefighting. Those workers include biologists, park rangers and other employees who are often tapped to help handle major wildfires.
The Forest Service is also expected to have fewer complex incident management teams — teams of federal, state and local emergency workers who organize a command structure and provide logistical support on major natural disasters. Last year, there were 44 such teams nationwide. So far this year, 37 have been organized.
That has Oregon state fire officials concerned.
“That has an impact to the overall fire system,” Oregon Department of Forestry fire division chief Michael Curran said.
Federal, state and local fire agencies rely on each other to help fight large wildfires. That mutual aid system is especially critical in Oregon and across the West, where the federal government owns huge swaths of land. If something major breaks out on federal land, the state can pitch in to help, and vice versa.
“That’s something the states are keeping a very close eye on,” Curran said.
Oregon has already seen wildfires quickly spark up this month, even though June 1 is typically considered the start of fire season. The Butte Creek Fire quickly burned about 1,800 acres in Wheeler County this week, but is now around 90% contained.
Meanwhile, large wildfires in Canada have forced thousands to flee their homes and smoke from those fires has wafted across Midwestern states.
