SALEM, Ore. — Oregon firefighters are finally getting some help from cooler, wetter weather after a wildfire season that has already become the most expensive in state history.
Oregon’s estimated net wildfire-fighting costs had reached approximately $236.2 million as of August 20, according to a Legislative Fiscal Office analysis. That is already about $35 million more than the final net cost of the 2024 wildfire season, which had previously been the state’s most expensive.
One fire showing improvement is the Austin Fire in the Mount Hood National Forest. The fire, burning south of Rhododendron, has scorched approximately 12,610 acres, but firefighters reported Thursday that containment had increased to 19 percent.
Rainfall and higher humidity have slowed fire activity and given crews an opportunity to strengthen containment lines. The Austin Fire had remained uncontained for much of August before reaching eight-percent containment Wednesday and then climbing to 19 percent Thursday.
The change in weather is helping elsewhere in Oregon as well. A persistent pattern of rain is expected to continue into the weekend in portions of the state, soaking extremely dry ground and assisting wildfire suppression efforts.
Central Oregon has been running roughly 15 to 20 degrees cooler than normal for early September, with some locations receiving two- to four-tenths of an inch of rain since Wednesday and additional precipitation expected.
But the rain is creating another potential hazard.
Officials are watching wildfire burn scars in Harney, Malheur and Baker counties for the possibility of mudslides or debris flows if heavier rain falls on recently burned terrain. Burned areas in Deschutes, Crook and Jefferson counties could also experience smaller mud flows because fires have left soil exposed and less able to absorb rainfall.
Despite the welcome change in weather, fire officials caution that Oregon’s wildfire season is not necessarily over. Warmer and drier weather can return in September, and firefighters continue working on active fires around the state.
For now, however, the widespread rain is giving crews an opportunity to make progress after one of Oregon’s largest and most costly wildfire seasons on record.
