A ‘catastrophic’ start to wildfire season in Oregon sparks alarm

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1. The Durkee fire is one of more than 100 lightning-ignited fires, including four “megafires”, that have started over the past week and are currently raging in the eastern and central parts of Oregon. A megafire is defined by National Interagency Fire Center as blazes that have burned more than 100,000 acres (40,000 hectares).

   The more than 1m acres (405,000 hectares) charred so far have already quadrupled last year’s total and are approaching the massive 2020 season, which saw 1.2m acres burned. The fire season typically runs until autumn rains arrive in mid-September, but bad years can see blazes burn into October.