Oregon wildfire burning over 95K acres could reach rare megafire status

NBC News

7 days ago

The nation's largest wildfire this year has burned over 95,740 acres, fire officials in central Oregon said Sunday, as ground crews made progress to partially contain a blaze that could still intensify to become a so-called megafire.
The size of the Cram Fire was adjusted slightly downward from Saturday after "more accurate mapping" was completed, officials said. They added that the massive blaze — which has drawn more than 900 fire personnel, destroyed a handful of homes and prompted evacuations in two counties — was 49% contained after crews struggled to keep back the flames last week.
"Yesterday was another favorable day with us with the weather, and so a lot of good work was done," Scott Stutzman, operations section chief of the Oregon State Fire Marshal, said Sunday in a Facebook video. "We'll have those crews out there continuing to maintain a presence mopping up, and also assisting our wildland partners on the perimeter."
Cooler temperatures and higher humidity over the weekend are expected to continue early this week, potentially aiding firefighting efforts, but the sheer size of the fire has been staggering: If it grows to at least 100,000 acres, it would be classified as a megafire, becoming the first one in the U.S. in 2025, said Stanton Florea, a spokesman with the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho, which coordinates the country's wildland firefighting operations.
Oregon saw six wildfires reach megafire status last year, federal data shows.
The phenomenon is considered rare, but it has grown in frequency as wildfires in general become more widespread and intense.
Megafires "are more common now," Florea said. "We're having longer fire seasons — what we're calling, the 'fire year.' And more intense fires that are lasting longer."
So far this year, there have been 40,934 wildfires, the highest year-to-date total in at least a decade, according to National Interagency Fire Center data.
But of the 1.6 million wildfires that have occurred since 2000, just 254 exceeded 100,000 acres burned, and only 16 were at least 500,000 acres, a Congressional Research Service report said in 2023.
"A small fraction of wildfires become catastrophic, and a small percentage of fires accounts for the vast majority of acres burned," the service said. "For example, about 1% of wildfires become conflagrations — raging, destructive fires — but predicting which fires will 'blow up' into conflagrations is challenging and depends on a multitude of factors, such as weather and geography."
The higher chance of extreme weather conditions, such as prolonged drought and strong winds, is being fueled by human-caused global warming, recent reports indicate. That means wildfires may not only ignite suddenly, but also strengthen in magnitude at a furious pace.
The Cram Fire, which led to evacuations in parts of Jefferson and Wasco counties, began a week ago, exploding amid extremely hot, dry and windy conditions in the West. The cause remains under investigation.
Florea said the Pacific Northwest is the highest-priority area in the country at the moment, with the nation's wildland firefighting resources being directed there, including to help battle at least nine large fires burning in Oregon.
Such heavy demand means officials must prioritize how resources are used. An increase in the number of wildfires strains the system and the fatigued crews who work around-the-clock shifts, Florea added.
While 88 engines and eight helicopters continue to be deployed to prevent the Cram Fire from spreading, the Oregon State Fire Marshal said Sunday it would begin modifying its response as containment improves.
At least four homes and two other structures have been destroyed so far. The fire is no longer threatening residences to the same degree, officials said.
Kyle Butler, whose home in rural Jefferson County was nearly burned in the blaze, said one neighbor fled the flames with her life, but returned to find her home severely damaged.