Oregon Public Broadcasting

Fire season is beginning to wind down throughout Oregon.

With cooler autumn weather now here, many counties are beginning to lift their restrictions on outdoor fires, chainsaw use and controlled burning.

Unlike, say the first day of autumn, the end of fire season doesn’t have a definitive last day. 

The Oregon Department of Forestry gives its 12 field districts and 3 fire associations latitude to lift those restrictions to suit their own climates and vegetation.

But Jeree Mills with the Northwest Interagency Coordination Center says overall statewide fire activity is beginning to wane. 

Lightning hasn’t been in the forecast and isn’t likely to be anytime soon.

Much of the state is expected to dry out next week, but Mills says more than enough firefighters are on hand.

Jeree Mills: “And so were we to get human starts say from folks’ abandoned campfires and such, we’ve got plenty of resources.  And the likelihood that that would turn into a large is pretty small.”

Mills says this year’s fire season turned out to be mild.  Compared to the 10-year average, there were 35 percent fewer fire starts around the state. 

Mills says those fires burned a quarter of the acreage when compared to the average.