Resources for Oregon firefighters have restrained early-season wildfires but may not last long

Fire season started early in the Northwest. The Rowena fire sparked in early June near The Dalles and destroyed 56 homes in a matter of days.

Since then, as dry thunderstorms and lightning continue to start hundreds of wildfires across the state, the Oregon Department of Forestry and Bureau of Land Management say they have been able to stop most fires before they spread. But as the season intensifies nationwide, they are concerned about competition with other Western states for resources like air tankers.

They’ve kept about 98% of fires under 10 acres so far this year, according to ODF, which is a slightly higher rate than either of the previous two years. They credit new technology, ample resources and quick response times.

ODF Fire Protection Division Chief Michael Curran said Oregon has had increased resources for “initial attack” partially due to an earlier than normal fire season compared to other states.

“Just due to it being an early fire season, and there not being fires in other parts of the state and in other parts of the U.S., and so we’ve been able to get access to resources,” Curran said.

While an aggressive “initial attack” approach is nothing new, Assistant State Fire Management Officer for the Oregon and Washington BLM, Richard Parrish, said having increased resources such as pre-positioned firefighting teams across the state, aerial water tankers and a Blackhawk helicopter crew — the only one in the nation — has made all the difference.

“Having the ability to have quick, deployable assets and ground firefighter resources. It really makes a difference,” Parrish said.

Every summer, agencies like ODF and BLM hold contracts with private vendors for fire suppression equipment such as aircrafts and drones. Normally those contracts begin in mid-July, when fire activity ramps up. But Curran said investments from Congress and the Oregon Legislature have allowed the state to bring in aircrafts sooner to battle early-season fires. Instead of waiting till July as they usually do, they started using aircraft in the first part of June.

“So having that quick access to aircraft when we normally wouldn’t, we’ve been able to jump on fires pretty quick so far,” Curran said

Parrish also praised specialized cameras from the University of Oregon-sponsored Oregon Hazards Lab. Positioned across southern and eastern Oregon, they can detect fire ignition and alert authorities to fires in remote terrain, potentially catching fires that otherwise would have gone unnoticed.

The 360-degree cameras can zoom up to 40 times, giving fire officials remote access to monitor wildfires and assess their size from afar.

Parrish said they have 60 cameras and plan to expand to 75. The BLM also utilizes Department of Defense satellites that estimate fire size and location and automatically alert authorities.

Parrish said the BLM has worked in recent years to “professionalize” their firefighters, creating full-time, year-round positions that help to reduce a decades-long reliance on seasonal and temporary firefighters.

That has really helped boost our response because we have people who are familiar with the area that are on longer and cuts down on the amount of hiring that we actually have to do year to year,” he said.

Successfully attacking so many small fires early in the season could have potential disadvantages later on, though.

When fire naturally burns on a landscape, it can reduce fuel for future fires. Putting out smaller fires can mean those fuels build up for larger ones.

Timothy Ingalsbee, executive director of Firefighters United for Safety, Ethics and Ecology, called the state’s long-standing emphasis on aggressive initial attack a “paradox.”

“Of course, they are successful with initial attack early in the season, those are the same conditions where it would be ideal to manage the fire to reduce the fuel when wildfires burn in peak wildfire season, where they won’t be successful with an initial attack. And that’s the paradox,” Ingalsbee said. “When we are successful with initial attack, it’s probably when we shouldn’t be so aggressive in putting fires out and when we’re not successful with initial attack, it’s during pretty severe fire weather and we wish we had let fires reduce fuel loads earlier in the year.”

He advocates letting fires burn in unpopulated areas, allowing for natural fuel reduction and preserving resources for when lives and property are at risk. Shifting from an “attack” to a “monitoring” mindset, he said, is safer for firefighters and better for ecosystems.

While officials cannot let every fire burn, Ingalsbee said they should be more selective and strategic about which fires they choose to direct resources to. This helps ensure resources stretch through the entire fire season, which has become increasingly prolonged due to climate change, he said.

ODF reported Friday that more than 400 fires have scorched 2,000 acres of state-protected land so far this summer.

Curran said there’s been an uptick in human-caused fires this year. With future resource availability uncertain, he is urging people to take extra precautions during the ongoing heat and dry conditions and allow officials to preserve resources for naturally-caused fires.

“When it comes to lightning, we can’t control that and what fires start. But we can control what human-caused starts there are,” Curran said. “So really just imploring the public to understand the severity of the fire situation we’re going to have this summer, and we’re currently experiencing and just know that any additional start for us is going to tax the system even more to where we may not have enough resources available.”

Fire restrictions are in place across ODF land, and burn bans remain in effect throughout BLM land. Parrish said the best way to follow restrictions is to “know before you go” by checking with local agencies for updates.