It’s been a record-setting fire season in Oregon, officials said Sunday. More than 1.7 million acres of Oregon’s landscape have burned this year.
Carol Connolly with the Northwest Interagency Coordination Center said that is the highest amount of acres burned since 1992.
“As of today, the Northwest is now the number one priority in the nation,” Connolly said. “We’ve detected at a minimum of 50 new fires.”
More than 600 lightning strikes moved through the area Friday and Saturday, sparking those fires. Connolly says five new large fires were started and a total of 27 large fires are burning in the region. A large fire is defined as 100 acres of timber or 300 acres of grassland.
On Saturday, Sept. 7, the Pacific Northwest was elevated to Preparedness Level 5.
Officials are urging people to be extremely careful when they are out on public lands.