Most southern Oregon fire districts reported a relatively quiet season.
The Oregon Department of Forestry's Southwest Oregon District stayed busy with both human- and lightning-caused fires, said spokesperson Natalie Weber.
"Another difference is that we really didn’t see the heat wave early in the summer that we have in the last couple years," she said. "So that was a factor that contributed to not seeing large fire growth."
Compared to last year, Weber said the district responded to 50 more fires, but saw 2,000 fewer acres burn.
The agency said in a Facebook post that “ODF has an annual goal of putting out 98% of fires at 10 acres or less. 258 fires were caught at this standard, nearly meeting this metric at 92%.”
This year's fire season was slightly shorter than last year's, said Rachael Pope, spokesperson for the Douglas Forest Protective Association.
The Coos Forest Protective Association initially had staffing concerns but was able to hire a full workforce, said Brett Weidemiller, assistant unit forester.
Weidemiller said 96.49% of the association’s fires were suppressed at 10 acres or less. "That's a pretty good report card," he said.
Burning debris piles is now allowed, although experts caution to never leave them unattended, check in with your local fire department, obtain a permit if required and make sure the piles are fully extinguished.
"Eighty percent of the fires that were experienced in the Douglas District were human-caused. Of those human-caused fires, about 50% of them were equipment-use related," Pope said. "Some examples were fires caused by mowing and dried crude grass or fire started from the heat from an exhaust on a car."
Meanwhile, the Moon Complex is still burning in Curry County, covering more than 19,000 acres and about one-third contained. The rest of the region’s wildfires are nearly or fully contained, including the 33,000-acre Emigrant Fire in Lane and Douglas Counties.
Still, it's not time to relax, said Jennifer Case, spokesperson for ODF's Klamath-Lake District.
"So in the offseason," she said, "is right when you get ready for next fire season because it's going to be here sooner than we all want it to be."
She recommends clearing defensible space around your home and being careful if you’re burning. Experts say wildfires can occur year-round, especially on windy days.
California remains in peak wildfire season, said Jeremy Ward, fire prevention battalion chief for CAL FIRE's Humboldt-Del Norte unit.
"We have had some fall weather come in and gotten some precipitation along with some cooler temperatures, which has helped reduce the fire danger," he said. "However, we are still fully staffed."'
The unit recently lifted its suspension on debris burning.
"In California, we are maintaining that peak staffing further through the year due to the activity that we've seen in more recent years in what was traditionally considered non-fire season months," Ward said.
