PNW Focus

The Oregon State Fire Marshal is kicking off Wildfire Awareness Month by urging homeowners to focus on the first five feet around their homes — where ember ignition is most likely — and to prepare evacuation plans before fire season peaks.

Gov. Tina Kotek warns that the 2026 Oregon wildfire season — already underway — could be severe and long-lasting, driven by record-low snowpack, drought, and above-normal temperatures forecast through fall.

Land managers across Oregon and Washington are expanding prescribed burn programs in 2026, using carefully planned low-intensity fires to reduce the catastrophic fuel loads that drive destructive wildfires.