Oregon Journalism Project: This Oregon Wildfire Season Has Blazed Past All Records, With No End in Sight

77 active fires in Oregon amid historic wildfire season

Crews across the state continue to battle existing fires as they take on new ones on Friday after lightning strikes started new fires the previous day in an already historic wildfire season.

Regular Attendance at Oregon Schools Jumped by 7,000 Students This Past School Year

New data shows that over 7,000 more students in grades K–12 regularly attended classes in Oregon this past school year, an Oregon Journalism Project analysis shows.

Oregon Journalism Project: This Oregon Wildfire Season Has Blazed Past All Records, With No End in Sight

Free news: This story was produced by the Oregon Journalism Project, a nonprofit investigative newsroom for the state of Oregon.

Oregon's wildfire season blazes past all records, with no end in sight

On recent days in Prineville, smoke from the nearby Rowe Creek Complex wildfire feels “thick enough to cut with a knife,” said Beverly Friesen, an 81-year-old grandmother. For the first time in over 40 years, she had to evacuate from the area, leaving behind her one-story, two-bedroom home, which held so many memories of her late husband and the children they raised. “My husband had just passed away two years ago, and it was god-awful,” she sai…

Oregon wildfire season has blazed past all records, with no end in sight

The record 2.3 million acres burned have far surpassed the previous 2024 record—even before the peak season. By Khushboo Rathore Oregon Journalism Project On recent days in Prineville, smoke from the nearby Rowe Creek Complex wildfire feels “thick enough to cut with a knife,” said Beverly Friesen, an 81-year-old grandmother. For the first time in over 40 years, she had to evacuate from the area, leaving behind her one-story, two-bedroom home, wh…