October 30, 2024 2:50 a.m.

All Oregon Department of Forestry districts have terminated fire restrictions, marking the end of the record-breaking 2024 Oregon fire season declaration.

With over 1.9 million acres burned across the state, officials said firefighters and resources experienced extreme strain.

Kyle Williams, ODF Deputy Director of Fire Protection said, “This season proved that wildfire in Oregon is not just one agency’s issue but effects ALL Oregonians from government agencies to private landowners to Oregon residents. This is our reality, and we need to adjust in response to it.”

Year to date, there have been 1,003 fires on ODF protected lands resulting in 314,181 acres burned.

Williams said due to the agency’s aggressive approach to initial attack to preserve natural resources, protect communities, and increase firefighter safety, many fire starts that occurred this year were stopped before getting out of control.

Overall, this year the department put out 93% of fires on ODF-protected land at 10 acres or less.

The beginning and end of fire season restrictions and regulations are set by each forest protection district based on the conditions in their areas including drought issues, climatic forecasts, and seasonal trends.

Officials said as Oregon transitions out of fire season, ODF districts across the state are shifting their attention to wildfire prevention, fuel reduction, mitigation and planning efforts.

Statewide, including all departments and jurisdictions, there have been 1,956 fires that have burned nearly 1,940,000 acres of land.