Oregon wildfires

Are wildfire records common in Oregon?

Oregon averages about 26 wildfire records a year since 2000, 3rd of 48 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2020 (60). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Oregon records 77 wildfire records since 1996, 9th of 48 states and territories by that measure.

1. 1. Hawaii 441
2. 2. New Jersey 241
3. 3. Puerto Rico 137
4. 4. California 102
5. 5. Florida 91
6. 6. Oklahoma 88
7. 7. Delaware 87
8. 8. Washington 82
9. 9. Oregon 77
10. 10. Colorado 64

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1996, per 10,000 square miles of land area (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer; places under 1,000 square miles not ranked). Damage colours: Storm Events damage, 2025 dollars.

Which counties in Oregon have the most wildfire records?

Per square mile, Josephine County leads Oregon: 70 days with a wildfire record since 1996, 42.7 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Douglas County has the most wildfire records (113 since 1996); large counties collect more records simply by covering more ground, so the ranking counts days with a record per unit of area (a storm filed for several forecast zones adds several records but one day).

1. Josephine County 42.7 (92)
2. Curry County 41.1 (83)
3. Sherman County 38.9 (36)
4. Jefferson County 37.6 (79)
5. Hood River County 36.4 (30)
6. Jackson County 30.2 (101)
7. Wheeler County 28.0 (60)
8. Coos County 27.6 (47)
9. Wasco County 23.9 (65)
10. Gilliam County 21.6 (26)
11. Marion County 18.6 (44)
12. Deschutes County 16.9 (59)

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, days with a record in the county since 1996 per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer); in brackets, the count of records.

When is fire season in Oregon?

58% of its wildfire records since 1996 fell in August and September. The busiest month is August (237 records).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began, since 1996.

What were the deadliest wildfire records in Oregon?

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: deaths direct and indirect, as filed by the National Weather Service, summed over each storm (one episode, or one named storm filed by several offices). Storm names from the titles of FEMA declarations that name the storm's counties.

The costliest wildfire records in Oregon

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: property and crop damage as estimated by the National Weather Service, in 2025 dollars.

Are wildfire records becoming more frequent in Oregon?

Oregon's count per decade against the whole country's, and its share. NOAA recorded every event type only from 1996, so earlier decades are not comparable; the share of the national total is the fairer comparison across decades.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.

The most recent wildfire records in Oregon

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; the newest months are revised by NCEI as reports arrive. Search the record at NCEI.

Federal disaster declarations for wildfire records in Oregon

FEMA has declared 129 disasters in Oregon for wildfire, counting its incident type and declarations that name fire in the title (FEMA files most storm disasters under Severe Storm); 2 were major disasters, the latest on August 14, 2026.

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), through October 2, 2026. OpenFEMA dataset page.

Next

• Josephine County: the county's whole recordThe Oregon county with the most wildfire records per square mile
• Wildfires across the United StatesEvery state ranked, by year and month
• Every natural hazard in OregonTornadoes, floods, storms, heat and the federal declarations
• High wind and dust storms in Oregon3,172 records
• Winter storms in Oregon2,768 records
• Extreme cold in Oregon1,168 records