The Columbia River Gorge is a canyon of the Columbia River in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. Up to 4,000 feet (1,200 m) deep, the canyon stretches for over eighty miles (130 km) as the river winds westward through the Cascade Range, forming the boundary between the state of Washington to the north and Oregon to the south. Extending roughly from the confluence of the Columbia with the Deschutes River in the east down to the eastern reaches of the Portland metropolitan area, the water gap furnishes the only navigable route through the Cascades and the only water connection between the Columbia Plateau and the Pacific Ocean. It is thus that the routes of Interstate 84, U.S. Route 30, Washington State Route 14, and railroad tracks on both sides run through the gorge.
Oregon Route 35 is a state highway in the U.S. state of Oregon, running between Government Camp on the slopes of Mount Hood and the city of Hood River. OR 35 traverses part of the Mt. Hood Highway No. 26 and part of the Historic Columbia River Highway No. 100 of the Oregon state highway system. Along the Historic Columbia River Highway in Hood River, the route is silently concurrent with U.S. Route 30.
The Border Fire was a large wildfire that burned in Potrero, San Diego County, California, as part of the 2016 California wildfire season. The fire was so named due to its proximity to the United States-Mexican border.
The 2017 Washington wildfires were a series of wildfires that burned over the course of 2017, a year that set weather records for heat and aridity in both Western Washington and Eastern Washington.
The Eagle Creek Fire was a destructive wildfire in the Columbia River Gorge, largely in the U.S. state of Oregon, with smaller spot-fires in Washington. The fire was started on September 2, 2017, by a 15-year-old boy igniting fireworks during a burn ban. The fire burned 50,000 acres, and burned for three months, before being declared completely contained. As late as May 29, 2018, it was still found smoldering in some areas.
The 2017 Oregon wildfires were a series of wildfires that burned over the course of 2017.
The 2018 Washington wildfire season officially began June 1, 2018. A statewide state of emergency was declared by Governor Jay Inslee on July 31.
The Mendocino Complex Fire was a large complex of wildfires that burned in northern California for more than three months in 2018. It consisted of two wildfires, the River Fire and Ranch Fire, which burned in Mendocino, Lake, Colusa, and Glenn Counties in the U.S. State of California, with the Ranch Fire being California's single-largest recorded wildfire at the time until the Dixie Fire in 2021. The Ranch Fire burned eight miles northeast of Ukiah, and the River Fire burned six miles north of Hopland, to the south of the larger Ranch Fire. First reported on July 27, 2018, both fires burned a combined total of 459,123 acres (1,858 km2), before they were collectively 100% contained on September 18, though hotspots persisted until the complex was fully brought under control on January 4, 2019. The Ranch Fire alone burned 410,203 acres (1,660 km2), making it the largest wildfire in modern California history at the time until the August Complex fire that occurred in 2020. The Ranch Fire also surpassed the size of the 315,577-acre Rush Fire, which burned across California and Nevada, as well as the Santiago Canyon Fire of 1889, which was previously believed to have been California's all-time largest wildfire.
The 2020 Oregon wildfire season was one of the most destructive on record in the state of Oregon. The season is a part of the 2020 Western United States wildfire season. The fires killed at least 11 people, burned more than 1,000,000 acres (400,000 ha) of land, and destroyed thousands of homes.
The North Complex Fire was a massive wildfire complex that burned in the Plumas National Forest in Northern California in the counties of Plumas and Butte. 21 fires were started by lightning on August 17, 2020; by September 5, all the individual fires had been put out with the exception of the Claremont and Bear Fires, which merged on that date, and the Sheep Fire, which was then designated a separate incident. On September 8, strong winds caused the Bear/Claremont Fire to explode in size, rapidly spreading to the southwest. On September 8, 2020, the towns of Berry Creek and Feather Falls were immediately evacuated at 3:15 PM PDT with no prior warning, By September 9, 2020, the towns of Berry Creek and Feather Falls had been leveled, with few homes left standing. The fire threatened the city of Oroville, before its westward spread was stopped. The fire killed 16 people and injured more than 100. Among the 16 fatalities was a 16-year-old boy. The complex burned an estimated 318,935 acres (129,068 ha), and was 100% contained on December 3. The fire was managed by the U.S. Forest Service in conjunction with Cal Fire, with the primary incident base in Quincy. The North Complex Fire was the sixth-largest in California's modern history, and the deadliest fire in the 2020 California wildfire season.
The Western United States experienced a series of major wildfires in 2020. Severe August thunderstorms ignited numerous wildfires across California, Oregon, and Washington, followed in early September by additional ignitions across the West Coast. Fanned by strong, gusty winds and fueled by hot, dry terrains, many of the fires exploded and coalesced into record-breaking megafires, burning more than 10.2 million acres of land, mobilizing tens of thousands of firefighters, razing over ten thousand buildings, and killing at least 37 people. The fires caused over $19.884 billion in damages, including $16.5 billion in property damage and $3.384 billion in fire suppression costs. Climate change and poor forest management practices contributed to the severity of the wildfires.
The Telegraph Fire is a wildfire that started near Superior, Arizona on June 4, 2021. The fire burned 180,757 acres (73,150 ha) and was fully contained on July 3, 2021. It was the largest wildfire in the United States of the 2021 wildfire season until being surpassed by the Bootleg Fire in Oregon on July 13, 2021.
The 2021 Washington wildfire season officially began in March 2021. By late April, all of Eastern Washington had been classified by the United States Drought Monitor as "abnormally dry" with moderate to severe drought conditions. The state had more than 630 wildfires by the first week of July, on par with the state's record 2015 wildfire season.
The Tennant Fire was a wildfire that burned in the Klamath National Forest in Siskiyou County, California, in the United States as part of the 2021 California wildfire season. The fire was first reported just east of Highway 97, three miles northwest of Bray, California on June 28, 2021. The fire was contained on July 12, 2021. The fire burned 10,580 acres (4,282 ha), destroyed five structures, and caused evacuations in Macdoel, California. The cause remains under investigation. The Tennant Fire was one of three fires burning at the same time in the Lake Shasta region, the others being the Lava Fire and the Salt Fire.
The Antelope Fire was a wildfire that burned in the Klamath National Forest, the Modoc National Forest, the Shasta-Trinity National Forest, and in Lava Beds National Monument in Siskiyou County, California, in the United States. The fire was started by a lightning strike and was first reported on August 1, 2021. As of October 15th, the fire had burned 145,632 acres (58,935 ha).
The Electra Fire was a wildfire that burned northeast of Mokelumne Hill in Amador and Calaveras Counties, California that started on July 4, 2022. The wildfire burned a total of 4,478 acres (1,812 ha) and was fully contained on July 28, 2022.
The McKinney Fire was a destructive wildfire in the Klamath National Forest in western Siskiyou County during the 2022 California wildfire season. The fire was named for its ignition point near McKinney Creek Road, where the fire began on July 29, 2022, at approximately 2:15 p.m. PDT. The McKinney Fire experienced explosive weather-driven growth over the next day and a half, consuming more than 50,000 acres in less than 36 hours, destroying at least 185 structures and causing 4 fatalities.
The 2023 Washington wildfire season officially began in March 2023 in the US state of Washington.
The Devils Butte Fire is an active wildfire in Gilliam County, Oregon. It ignited in the mornging on July 10, 2023, due to a lightning strike. As of July 12, 2023, the fire has burned 2,865 acres (1,159 ha) and is 100% contained.
The Gray Fire is an ongoing wildfire in Spokane County, Washington, United States. It began near Medical Lake at about 12:27 PM on August 18, 2023. As of August 20, 2023, the fire had burned 10,014 acres (4,053 ha) and was 10% contained. It has burned 185 structures and one person's death was determined to be connected to the fire.
