2018 Oregon wildfires

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2018 Oregon wildfires
July 2018 satellite Oregon fires.jpg
Thunderstorms over the weekend of July 14-15 brought thousands of lightning strikes to the state of Oregon, starting 150 wildfires. Fires on the Umpqua, Rogue River, Winema, and Siskiyou National Forests are seen in this July 18, 2018, NASA satellite photo.
Statistics [1] [2]
Total fires2,019
Total area897,263 acres (3,631.09 km2)
Season
←  2017

Wildfires in the U.S. state of Oregon in 2018 include the Boxcar Fire, Graham Fire, and Jack Knife Fire. [3]

Contents

In July, one person was killed by the Substation Fire, [4] which also destroyed the Charles E. Nelson House.

Background

"Fire season" in Oregon typically begins in mid-May and ends with the first rains that normally begins in late September. Drought, snowpack levels, and local weather conditions play a role in Oregon's fire season, particularly in Eastern and Southwest Oregon. During peak fire season from July to September, most wildfires are caused by lightning, while ignitions in the early and later parts of the season are related to humans. Warm, dry conditions in summer heighten the wildfire risk. After over 100 years of fire suppression and prevention of all fires, there is now an abundance of fuel. Climate change is leading to a reduced snowpack with an earlier and reduced snowmelt, so there is a higher risk for areas that receive wildfires. [5]

Wildfires

The following is a list of fires that burned more than 1,000 acres, or produced significant structural damage or loss of life.

NameCountyAcresStart dateContainment date [a] StatusNotesRef
Boxcar Wasco 100,207June 21, 2018July 6, 2018ContainedLightning-caused. Portions of U.S. Route 197 closed and evacuations issued for Maupin [7] [8]
Graham Jefferson 2,175June 21, 2018July 4, 2018ContainedLightning-caused. Threatened structures and burned near Lake Billy Chinook. [9] [10]
Jack Knife Sherman 15,676June 22, 2018July 6, 2018ContainedLightning-caused. Burned east of Maupin near John Day River. [11] [12]
Klondike Josephine 175,258July 15, 2018November 6, 2018ContainedLightning-caused. Burned near the Illinois River and evacuations issued for Galice, Merlin, and communities along U.S. Route 199. [13] [14]
Taylor Creek Josephine 52,839July 15, 2018ContainedLightning-caused. Evacuations near Rogue River and Grants Pass. Portion of Rogue River closed. [15] [16]
Garner Complex Josephine 8,886July 15, 2018August 14, 2018ContainedIncluded Grave Fires, Pleasant Creek Fire, and Spencer Fires. Burned north of Rogue River with evacuations for Wimer. [17] [18]
Hendrix Jackson 1,082July 15, 2018August 14, 2018ContainedLightning-caused. Burned in Little Applegate River area southwest of Ashland. Evacuations for Ruch. [19] [18]
Miles Jackson, Douglas 54,334July 15, 2018ContainedSugar Pine, South Umpqua Complex and Miles fire merged [20] [21]
Timber Crater 6 Klamath 3,126July 15, 2018August 16, 2018ContainedLightning-caused. Burned in northeast corner of Crater Lake National Park. [22] [23]
Substation Wasco 78,425July 17, 2018August 2, 2018ContainedPossibly human-caused. Burned close to The Dalles. Evacuations near Moro and Grass Valley. Killed one person and destroyed the Charles E. Nelson House. [24] [25]
Long Hollow Wasco 33,451July 26, 2018August 14, 2018ContainedCaused by farming equipment. Evacuations along the Deschutes River. [26] [27]
Lake Wallula Umatilla 12,462July 29, 2018July 30, 2018ContainedUnknown cause. Burned along U.S. Route 730. [28] [29]
South Valley Wasco 20,026August 1, 2018August 10, 2018ContainedHuman-caused. Evacuations for 500 people south of Dufur. Closed portion of U.S. Route 197 closed. [30] [31]
Watson Lake 16,227August 15, 2018ContainedStarted from a vehicle conducting maintenance on Paradise Creek allotment. Burned in Fremont-Winema National Forest. [32] [33]

Notes

  1. ↑ Containment means that fire crews have established and secured control lines around the fire's perimeter. These lines are artificial barriers, like trenches or cleared vegetation, designed to stop the fire's spread, or natural barriers like rivers. Containment reflects progress in managing the fire but does not necessarily mean the fire is starved of fuel, under control, or put out. [6]

References

  1. ↑ "2018 National Year-to-Date Report on Fires and Acres Burned by State" (PDF). NIFC . August 2, 2018. Retrieved August 20, 2020.
  2. ↑ "Southern Area Coordination Center". Southern Area Coordination Center. Retrieved July 7, 2018.
  3. ↑ "Three large Oregon fires burning across more than 116,000 acres almost contained". OregonLive.com. Retrieved July 6, 2018.
  4. ↑ Parks, Molly Solomon | Bradley W. "1 Person Dead In Ongoing Substation Fire Near The Dalles, Oregon". www.opb.org. Retrieved July 19, 2018.
  5. ↑ "Oregon Fire Season: In-Depth Guide". wfca.com. Western Fire Chiefs Association. February 23, 2023. Retrieved June 7, 2025.
  6. ↑ "What containment and other wildfire related terms mean". Los Angeles: KCAL-TV. September 12, 2024. Retrieved July 25, 2025.
  7. ↑ "Boxcar Fire". National Wildfire Coordinating Group . Retrieved August 1, 2018.
  8. ↑ Gibson, Mark (August 27, 2020). "Boxcar fire burns near Maupin". Columbia Gorge News. Retrieved May 21, 2025.
  9. ↑ "Graham Fire". National Wildfire Coordinating Group . Retrieved August 1, 2018.
  10. ↑ Loew, Tracy (June 24, 2018). "Boxcar Fire grows to 87,000 acres; evacuation lifted at Graham Fire". Statesman Journal. Retrieved May 21, 2025.
  11. ↑ "Jack Knife Fire". National Wildfire Coordinating Group . Archived from the original on July 11, 2018. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
  12. ↑ "Boxcar Fire and Jack Knife Fire Update 6/25 9 AM". centraloregonfire.org. June 25, 2018. Retrieved May 21, 2025.
  13. ↑ "Klondike Fire". National Wildfire Coordinating Group . Archived from the original on August 2, 2018. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
  14. ↑ "Taylor Creek Fire and Klondike Fire" (PDF). fire.ak.blm.gov. Alaska Incident Management Team. Retrieved May 21, 2025.
  15. ↑ "Taylor Creek Fire". National Wildfire Coordinating Group . Retrieved August 1, 2018.
  16. ↑ Urness, Zach; Woodworth, Whitney (July 31, 2018). "Southern Oregon wildfires: Taylor Creek Fire closes section of Rogue River". KGW . Salem Statesman Journal. Retrieved May 21, 2025.
  17. ↑ "Garner Complex Fire". National Wildfire Coordinating Group . Retrieved August 1, 2018.
  18. 1 2 Davis, David; Urness, Zach (July 24, 2018). "Southern Oregon fires: Air quality worst in United States, but area avoids new lightning fires". Statesman Journal. Retrieved May 24, 2025.
  19. ↑ "Hendrix Fire". National Wildfire Coordinating Group . Retrieved August 1, 2018.
  20. ↑ "Sugar Pine Fire". National Wildfire Coordinating Group . Retrieved August 1, 2018.
  21. ↑ "South Umpqua Complex Fire". National Wildfire Coordinating Group . Retrieved August 1, 2018.
  22. ↑ "Timber Crater 6 Fire". National Wildfire Coordinating Group . Retrieved August 1, 2018.
  23. ↑ Davis, David; Urness, Zach (July 24, 2018). "Crews battling the Timber Crater 6 Fire successfully prevent blaze from growing". Statesman Journal. Retrieved May 24, 2025.
  24. ↑ "Substation Fire". National Wildfire Coordinating Group . Retrieved August 1, 2018.
  25. ↑ Cruz Guevarra, Ericka; Templeton, Amelia; VanderHart, Dirk (July 19, 2018). "Substation Fire Now Nation's Top Firefighting Priority". Oregon Public Radio. Retrieved May 24, 2025.
  26. ↑ "Long Hollow Fire". National Wildfire Coordinating Group . Retrieved August 1, 2018.
  27. ↑ Park, Eileen (July 27, 2018). "17K acre Long Hollow Fire started by farming equipment". KOIN . CBS. Retrieved May 24, 2025.
  28. ↑ "National Large Incident Year-to-Date Report" (PDF). National Interagency Fire Center . Retrieved August 3, 2018.
  29. ↑ "Lake Wallula Fire 65 percent contained". East Oregonian . July 31, 2018. Retrieved May 24, 2025.
  30. ↑ "South Valley Fire". National Wildfire Coordinating Group . Retrieved August 3, 2018.
  31. ↑ Woodworth, Whitney; Urness, Zach (August 3, 2018). "South Valley Fire forces 500 people from homes, grows to 20,00 acres". Statesman Journal. Retrieved May 24, 2025.
  32. ↑ "Watson Fire". InciWeb. Retrieved August 15, 2018.
  33. ↑ "2nd Lawsuit Filed Against Oregon Ranch Over 2018's Watson Creek Wildfire". Oregon Public Radio. Associated Press. June 19, 2020. Retrieved May 24, 2025.
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