Oregon, Washington faces total of 17 ‘large’ wildfires spanning 125,000 acres

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — There are a total of 17 “large” wildfires actively burning in Oregon and Washington, the Northwest Interagency Coordination Center said in an Aug. 29 report. Nearly 5,000 firefighters are battling the various fires, consuming more than 125,000 acres of forest and grassland in the region.

Northwest Interagency Coordination Center fire management specialist Zachary Ellinger told KOIN 6 News that these wildfire statistics account for all fires or fire complexes larger than 100 acres. However, there are many other smaller or still unknown fires that are currently not included in the report.

“There are some fires that we either don't know about or are not staffed,” Ellinger said. “What we do know is that there aren’t that many of those fires. We have active bands of lightning right now here in the Pacific Northwest, but we won't know the full extent of those storms until they pass through. We’re not anticipating a great deal of new fire starts.”

In Oregon, there are currently 12 “large” wildfires burning around the state spanning 95,405 acres. Approximately 3,362 firefighters have been assigned to these fires, including 151 engines and 37 firefighting helicopters.

In Washington, firefighters are facing five “large” wildfires, which have burned a total of 33,128 acres. Roughly 1,546 firefighters are battling these fires, including 90 engines and 11 helicopters.

The Northwest Interagency Coordination Center has listed the 17 notable wildfires burning in Oregon and Washington in order of current attack priority:

Tyee Ridge Complex Fire
Oregon: 10 miles west of Sutherlin
Cause: Lightning
Acres: 2,896
Containment: 5%

“The Complex consists of 14 fires with multiple fires merging,” the report states. “The incident management team is managing 10 active fires within the Complex, one of which is the Cougar Creek 1 incident which is currently at 2,244 acres.”

• Camp Creek Fire
  Oregon: 10 miles northeast of Sandy
  Cause: Lightning
  Acres: 1,607
  Containment: 0%

• Lookout Fire
  Oregon: 4 miles northeast of McKenzie Bridge.
  Cause: Lightning
  Acres: 22,317
  Containment 17%

• Chilcoot Fire
  Oregon: 20 miles east of Glide
  Cause: Undetermined
  Size: 921 acres
  Containment: 0%

• Oregon Road Fire
  Washington: Elk
  Cause: Undetermined
  Acres: 10,817
  Containment: 49%

• Gray Fire
  Washington: 3.5 miles northwest of Cheney
  Cause: Undetermined
  Acres: 10,085
  Containment: 85%

• Sourdough Fire
  Washington: 6 miles northeast of Newhalem
  Cause: Lightning
  Acres: 6,221 acres
  Containment: 30%

• Bedrock Fire
  Oregon: 10 miles northeast of Lowell
  Cause: Undetermined
  Acres: 31,579
  Containment: 71%

• Flat Fire
  Oregon: 2 miles southeast of Agness
  Cause: Undetermined
  Acres: 34,242
  Containment: 58%

• Pothole Fire
  Oregon: 9 miles Southeast of McKenzie Bridge
  Cause: undetermined
  Acres: 99
  Containment: 0%

• Horse Creek Fire
  Oregon: 1 mile southeast of McKenzie Bridge
  Cause: Lightning
  Acres: 597
  Containment: 0%

• Ridge Fire
  Oregon: 24 miles northwest of Diamond Lake
  Cause: Undetermined
  Acres: 150
  Containment: 0%

• Petes Lake Fire
  Oregon:  25 miles northwest of Sunriver
  Cause: Lightning
  Acres: 300 
  Containment: 0%

• Crater Creek Fire
  Washington: 20 miles northwest of Orovill
  Cause: Undetermined
  Acres: 5,055
  Containment: 6%

• Blue Lake Fire
  Washington: 24 miles west of Winthrop
  Cause: Undetermined
  Acres: 950 
  Containment: 31%

• Brice Creek Fire 
  Oregon: 9 miles southwest of Oakridg
  Cause: Undetermined
  Acres: 125
  Containment: 0%

• Dinner Fire
  Oregon: 11 miles southwest of Oakridge
  Cause: Lightning 
  Acres: 150
  Containment: 0%

Stay with KOIN 6 for continuing wildfire coverage.