As of this writing, there were over 150 active fires in the state of Oregon alone with over 800,000 acres burned. In the western U.S., there has been nearly 2,000,000 acres burned in this season alone. In Idaho, there are 17 active fires with evacuation orders in place. There are almost 25,000 people working on these fires across the West.
The National Interagency Fire Center records data from the 11 western states, Alaska included. Comparing year-to-date stats (Jan. 1 through July 25), this year is now beating the average acres burned by 300,000 acres. Compared to 2022, this is 2 million acres less with 12,000 less fires reported. Interestingly, last year with the cool summer season we felt, there were 74% less acres burned at this point. Currently, two fires that are actively burning on the Idaho/Oregon border have surpassed 400,000 acres.
Our spring and early summer season felt like it was going to be much the same. Cooler temperatures with frequent moisture supported by plentiful runoff from snowpack amped up the fire fuel load. Most areas in Oregon, Idaho and Washington held snowpack levels between 100-105% of normal. Spring season moisture continued to bring ample moisture to continue grass growth and development. Throughout much of the West, this spring’s season was ideal and fire fuel is in abundance.
Pacific Northwest data records the average high temperature for the month of June as 67 F. That same area jumped to an average of 84 F in July. Keep in mind this data includes coastal regions. For perspective, Boise, ID, has had more days in July over 100 F than have been below.
Data supported by the National Centers for Environmental Information shared some interesting trends. Looking specifically at the Northwest U.S., the past 30 years (1991-2020 data), shows a balanced look of moisture and weather change. Most Pacific Northwest regions show overall average precipitation with a slight increase in mean temperature change—most regions being up 0.5 to 1 degree F.
The data becomes more interesting when broken down to the reported months, January, April, July and October. The data tracked annual precipitation and temperature change. January showed an increase in both moisture and temperature. April and October showed a larger increase in moisture with a cooldown in temperature. July showed a drastic drop in moisture with a modest increase in temperature.
The mere reason I bring this data in is to show overall trends. The data supports more highs and lows that balance into slight means trends. Is there a warming pattern? All the data says yes. Is it manmade and do we have an impact on this? This is where it gets murky, and propaganda driven.
Many of WLJ’s readers will remember in the 1970s when the concern was a “Little Ice Age.” Since 1976, though, Earth’s temperature has gotten warmer by about a quarter of a degree each decade. For reference and rolling my eyes at the beef cattle emissions piece, there were 128 million head on inventory in 1976 compared to today’s number of 87.2 million head. Hard to convince me that cows have anything to do with this trend when we have so fewer cows, but the atmosphere continues to change.
Basically, my stance on this is from several fronts. The first being how public land is being managed and funds being readily available. Fire season is a large economy for many sectors of government and its contractors. We are seeing fire fuel being abandoned for decades while homes are continuing to breach into wilderness areas. More and more structures are being threatened, especially in areas in California.
People are moving deeper into wilderness areas and with brush, grass and debris management not able to maintain safety levels, we are seeing more towns and communities threatened. Canada is facing many of the same situations in this regard. It is estimated that wildfires nationally account for between $400-900 billion each year in damages. The government allocates $20-25 billion for fire suppressing measures each year. Most of the resources are a reactive allocation rather than a preventative approach.
Simply put, the weather patterns have supported for fire fuel over the past few years. This year created a perfect situation, especially in areas like Oregon, Idaho, Washington and Montana. Good spring rains with excellent growing temperatures followed by an aggressive heat wave that zapped moisture, crisped grasses and created an opportunity for fire to explode across the region. We can’t look at individual days and go screaming global warming or global cooling. What we can do is look at seasons, situations and management and realize many of the problems stem back to the organization and utilization of resources that agencies deal with.
We pray for all those affected by the current wildfires. To donate to the Oregon Cattlemen’s Association Wildfire Fund, visit orcattle.com/wildfire-fund-donations. To help with relief efforts in your state, contact your state cattlemen’s association. We pray for rain and the safety of those battling the blazes and hope this fire season ends soon. — LOGAN IPSEN
