PENDLETON â Despite rain showers over the weekend in much of Northeast Oregon, fire officials say the region is still ripe for wildfires.
âItâs dry,â said Joe Hessel, a forester for the Oregon Department of Forestryâs Northeast Oregon. âI think, statewide, Oregon Department of Forestry protected lands have had four times the average number of fires.â
Not only are the number of fires higher for this time of year but, Hessel said, the number of acres burned is three times higher than normal.
So far, the Pendleton area has been fairly quiet as far as human-caused fire starts go, but the district has had eight fires this spring and, according to Matt Howard, ODFâs Wallowa Unit forester, his jurisdiction has had 16 fire calls since April 1.