Fire season was officially declared by the Oregon Department of Forestry on its Northeastern Oregon lands at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday, June 9.
"We've been seeing fire conditions and behavior that is more indicative of mid to late July recently," District Forester Joe Hessel said in a press release from the ODF. "The fuel moisture of our dead fuels is already at a point where they will readily burn, and it won't be long before our grasses have cured."
Fire season typically doesn't start until later in June, as Hessel said spring moisture typically pushes the start date back. Lightning from thunderstorms last week started two fires — the Joseph Canyon Fire and Dry Creek Fire — that between them have burned more than 9,100 acres, though both, as of Thursday, were 90% contained.