Fire Archives

August is here, and so is peak wildfire season: Oregon officials remind us to stay informed and be prepared

August 4, 2025 4:51 pm Barney Lerten

(Update: Adding video) SALEM, Ore. (KTVZ) — As Oregon heads into its peak wildfire months, August and September, Oregon’s public safety services…

Deer are among the many wildlife affected by wildfires.

Oregon Wildlife Foundation offers tips on how you can help wildlife during wildfires

August 4, 2025 3:37 pm Barney Lerten

(Update: Adding video) SALEM, Ore. (KTVZ_ Oregon’s wildlife has evolved alongside fire, with many species adapted to periodic burns. However, the…

Central Oregon firefighters check smoke reports, work to contain fires amid more possible lightning, flash flooding

July 31, 2025 1:29 pm Barney Lerten

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — Firefighters are continuing their efforts on checking smoke reports and responding to lightning-sparked fires throughout Central…

‘Very different spot’: ODF says 2025 wildfire season has seen much less acreage burned so far, compared to last year

July 30, 2025 11:32 am KTVZ

Millions of acres were burned across Oregon during the 2024 wildfire season. Six “mega-fires” (over 100,000 acres each) burned across Eastern…

More lightning brings new wildfires around Central Oregon, the largest at about 27 acres, as stormy weather lingers

July 30, 2025 2:11 pm Barney Lerten

A new fire, Incident 667, was reported late Wednesday morning southwest of Mackey Mountain in the southeast corner of Crook County.
By mid-afternoon,…

Update: $300,000 garage-shop fire in Woodside Ranch appears to be accidental, but exact cause undetermined

July 28, 2025 7:22 pm Gregory Deffenbaugh, Tracee Tuesday

The fire that destroyed a garage/shop in Woodside Ranch south of Bend Monday evening appears to have been accidental in nature, but the damage was…

Lightning sparks 14 fires across Central Oregon; 12 are caught fast, crews still fighting 2 as more storms are due

July 29, 2025 12:28 pm Barney Lerten

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — Storms rumbling through Central Oregon Monday brought hundreds of lightning strikes that have ignited more than a dozen fires so…

Home damaged by fire off Highway 26 near Madras

Fire heavily damages home south of Madras, closes U.S. Highway 26 for a time

July 27, 2025 7:39 pm Gregory Deffenbaugh, Tracee Tuesday

MADRAS, Ore. (KTVZ) — .A fire Sunday afternoon heavily damaged a home atop a hill off U.S. Highway 26 south of Madras, and water shuttles to fight…

Bend woman arrested on reckless burning, theft charges, accused of starting two fires near Deschutes River, Sawyer Park

July 28, 2025 10:52 am Barney Lerten

A Bend woman has been arrested on reckless burning and other charges, accused of starting two fires near the Deschutes River west of Sawyer Park over…

Target shooting fire Tillamook State Forest

Five recent fires in Tillamook State Forest tied to target shooting, prompt fire safety reminders

July 25, 2025 5:59 pm Barney Lerten

TILLAMOOK STATE FOREST, Ore. (KTVZ) —The quick actions of Oregon Department of Forestry crews and rural fire departments have put out five fires…

Only Level 1 evacuation zone remains on the nearly 2-week-old , 96,000-acre Cram Fire

July 25, 2025 2:18 pm Barney Lerten

ASHWOOD, Ore. (KTVZ) — The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office on Friday removed the last Level 3 GO NOW and Level 2 GET SET evacuation zones on the…

Kotek signs legislation aimed at improving wildfire response, prevention efforts

July 24, 2025 4:43 pm Barney Lerten

BEAVERTON, Ore. (KTVZ) — Governor Tina Kotek on Thursday signed House Bill 3940 into law, bipartisan legislation that funds more tools for wildfire…

Second recent brush fire near La Pine homeless camp stopped fast; authorities seek ‘person of interest,’ public info

July 24, 2025 1:18 pm Barney Lerten

(Update: Adding video) La PINE, Ore. (KTVZ) — For the second time in recent weeks, a brush fire broke out near a transient camp on BLM land off…

Cram Fire update: More evacuation zones lowered, lifted as containment inches upward to 77%

July 22, 2025 3:23 pm Barney Lerten

Days of cooler weather have helped hundreds of firefighters battling the nearly 96,000-acre Cram Fire, where containment has reached 77% and more…

High Lakes area reopens after 2020 wildfires, completing public access to Santiam State Forest recreation spots

July 22, 2025 6:38 pm Barney Lerten

SANTIAM STATE FOREST, Ore. (KTVZ) —The High Lakes recreation area of the Santiam State Forest reopened this month after being closed in the…

Hot, dry weather prompts Forest Service to increase public use restrictions, fire danger levels on national forests

July 22, 2025 6:28 pm Barney Lerten

PORTLAND, Ore. (KTVZ) — Due to July’s persistent hot and dry weather, national forests across the Pacific Northwest increased or implemented…

‘Worry and fear’: Bend resident asks for public’s help after her car is destroyed in suspected arson

July 22, 2025 10:47 am KTVZ

(Update: Adding video, Adding more details) BEND, Ore. (KTVZ)– Around 1 a.m. on Sunday, Bend Police responded to a car fire near Pilot Butte. The…

More progress brings lifted and lowered evacuation levels on the Cram Fire, two fires on the Warm Springs Reservation

July 19, 2025 3:48 pm Barney Lerten

. More progress, helped by cooler weather, have brought reduced and removed evacuation levels Monday on the week-old, nearly 96,000-acre Cram Fire in…

‘Save lives’: Bend business supports firefighting through aviation tools

July 21, 2025 10:22 am KTVZ

Nearly 900 personnel, 89 engines, 19 hand crews and four helicopters fought the over 95,000-acre Cram Fire over the past…

Six structures lost to explosive Cram Fire, now approaching 100,000 acres: One resident shares story

July 18, 2025 11:34 am KTVZ

Residents living in the Ashwood community are grappling with the loss of structures after the over 95,000-acre Cram Fire started this…