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Officials: 2025 season brought more fires close to communities but early attack and investments limited acres and casualties
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Summary
Oregon fire officials told the Senate committee that 2025 saw many more ignitions near homes, but strong initial-attack performance, new contracted aircraft and recent legislative investments kept total acres and large-incident counts lower than feared.
Chair Golden convened the Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Wildfire on Sept. 30 for an informational briefing on the 2025 wildfire season and agency updates. Oregon State Fire Marshal Mariana Ruiz Temple and Oregon Department of Forestry Deputy Director Kyle Williams described a season marked by many starts near communities but relatively fewer acres burned.
"We have 6 incident management teams," said Mariana Ruiz Temple, noting Oregon is one of four states able to staff its own incident-management teams. Kyle Williams said the statewide picture showed about 2,800 fires across all jurisdictions this summer for roughly 320,000 acres, while ODF-jurisdiction totals were about 1,060 fires and 23,000 acres. "Fires have gotten a lot bigger. They burn a lot harder," Williams said as he described a westward march of the fire regime over the last decade.
Why it matters: officials said the pattern for 2025 was smaller-footprint fires occurring closer to communities, which increased structure and evacuation impacts even when total acres were down. The Flat Fire was a central case study: "In two days, it made a 12-mile run," Travis Madema of the Department of State Fire Marshal said, and the incident ultimately reached about 23,000 acres, with five residents killed and 824 residents saved at the peak of evacuations.
Officials credited recent investments for improved outcomes. Williams said the legislature increased the statewide severity program by $2 million annually, enabling ODF to add contracted aircraft and surge crews. ODF reported adding four aircraft this summer, bringing the program to 18 fixed- and rotary-wing platforms, with roughly 1,378 flight hours, more than 2,000,000 gallons of water delivered and nearly 300,000 gallons of retardant. The agencies also highlighted a 29-engine program and local defensible-space work as key contributors to the response.
Agencies described resource posture and safety results: ODF reported six team deployments totaling 73 days, 183 personnel brought in from 17 states and provinces, and about 330,693 exposure hours for ODF personnel; officials said they have not recorded any on-duty ODF deaths on ODF jurisdictional fires this summer.
Costs and reimbursements: officials presented preliminary cost figures of approximately $52 million net and $124 million gross to date, and told the committee that FEMA reimbursements submitted so far have been paid. "As we've sent billings out, they have been paid," Kyle Williams said when asked about federal reimbursements.
Community risk reduction: the State Fire Marshal described a combination of local, state and federal investments in community risk reduction and highlighted a defensible-space assessment program and partnerships (IBHS and Earth Alliance) designed to accelerate detection and home-hardening work. The agencies said the legislature provided $42 million for community wildfire risk reduction and that about 361 assessors across agencies have completed roughly 6,000 assessments to date.
What happens next: committee members requested a retrospective analysis of the Flat Fire and the role of community risk reduction in its outcome ahead of the next legislative session. The agencies agreed to provide follow-up reports and detailed data to inform budget and policy choices.