Nearly one million acres in Oregon have AQCAN Exchangeburned as 38 large wildfires remain uncontrolled across the state, including one of the nation's largest wildland fires.

The majority of the blazes have been massive grass fires on the east side of Oregon, but have burned total of 950,000 acres statewide. That's the most since 2020 – and we still have two months of fire season left this year.

The state's wildfire forecast is expected to moderate somewhat over the coming week, especially in western Oregon, following extreme fire growth and new ignitions. Cooler weather, higher humidity, no forecast thunderstorms and the possibility of light rain next week should "retard the growth of existing fires," Northwest Coordination Center fire meteorologist John Saltenberger said.

However, the situation on the east side of the state is only slightly improved. Cooler and more humid weather can make creating containment lines a bit tougher for fire crews using controlled fire around the perimeter of blazes.

"There’s some relief in temperature and higher humidity, but it’s still dry and we’ll have occasionally breezy conditions," Saltenberger said. "We don’t have the risk of new fires but there could be some growth of existing ones.”   

Durkee Fire burns 270,000 acres, 0% contained

The Durkee Fire, one of the largest in the U.S., had burned 270,000 acres as of Thursday morning and was 0% contained. The National Weather Service said storms brought close to 3,000 lightning strikes in the area.

Due to weather conditions like lower temperatures and probable thunderstorms, moderate fire behavior is expected on Thursday.

Wednesday's weather was full of erratic winds, lightning and flash flood warnings. The conditions caused spot fires, but firefighters had some success in containing those.

The Oregon Department of Transportation closed Interstate 84 from Pendleton to Ontario on Wednesday due to unpredictable fire activity in the area. The department does not have an expected opening and travelers should not plan to use I-84 for travel.

Oregon wildfire map

Oregon smoke forecast

A westerly wind pushed smoke mostly into central and eastern Oregon Thursday morning, and that trend should continue, Saltenberger said.

Air quality was good across the length of western Oregon Thursday morning, and moderate most places east of the Cascades. Saltenberger said northwest Oregon was likely to continue seeing good air quality while southwest Oregon may eventually see its air quality degrade.

An air quality alert remains in place for the Roseburg and Umpqua area down to Klamath Falls, along with Bend and most places east of the Cascades.

US wildfire, smoke map