Wildfires stretch Oregon firefighting resources thin
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
The Bench fire burned through the dry hills of central Oregon on Sunday. Photo: Courtesy of Central West Zone Incident Management Team
Dozens of large wildfires are burning across central and eastern Oregon, threatening homes, forcing thousands to evacuate and leaving skies tinged with unhealthy air.
Why it matters: The roughly 36 active fires are stretching firefighting resources to their limits.
Zoom in: The Bench fire broke out near Madras over the weekend, forcing closures of U.S. 26 and the evacuation of the tribal community of Warm Springs, while the Beachcomb fire also burned nearby.
- The fires merged Sunday, destroying six homes and scorching more than 40,000 acres between them, and were 0% contained as of Monday.
The Akawa Butte fire has been burning near Sisters along the Cascade crest since earlier this month, blackening more than 27,000 acres, though firefighters have been able to establish 6% containment on the blaze.
- Roughly 80 miles of I-84, from Baker City to the Idaho border, were closed Monday as the 26,000-acre Fox fire burned in eastern Oregon, per the Oregonian.
Stunning stat: More than 1.1 million acres have already been scorched in Oregon so far this year, nearly tripling the 338,000 acres that burned in all of 2025.
What they're saying: The sheer scale of fire across the state has led to resources that "are spread critically thin," the Oregon Department of Forestry posted on Facebook.
- "We are definitely looking at fires and having to start prioritizing which ones are going to be staffed appropriately," ODF spokesperson Jessica Neujahr told OPB.
Threat level: Many communities in eastern and central Oregon have been contending with shifting evacuation warnings and suffering under unhealthy levels of smoke for weeks.
- Portland has been fortunate to avoid any major air quality impacts so far, but all it takes is a shift in the wind for us all to be pulling out our N-95 masks.
What to do: Now is as good a time as any to make sure you're ready if and when smoke moves into the area.
- And if you live in an area that could be at risk of fire, here's how to prepare if you need to get out in a hurry.
What's next: Fire risk is expected to stay high for parts of eastern and central Oregon this week, with the potential for more lightning on Thursday.