Let’s face it, 2020 has not been a particularly good year. On top of a pandemic and all the hardships associated with it, extreme weather events have hit various parts of the country.

In Iowa, an extreme wind event known as a derecho brought winds of 140 mph, destroying more than 40% of that state’s corn and soybean crop. Hurricane Laura ravaged communities along the Louisiana Gulf Coast, bringing 15- to 20-foot storm surge and hurricane force winds up to 100 miles inland. And now, fires rage across much of the Western United States in what has been described as one of the worst fire seasons in a generation.

Wildfires are not uncommon across the Western U.S. Many meteorologists consider fire weather to be the “severe weather” of the West, as severe storms and tornadoes occur less frequently here than in other parts of the country. Each year, as we come out of spring and daylight hours increase, temperatures run hotter, and rain becomes scarce, we see an uptick in fire risk.

In a typical season, Eastern Oregon and Washington will see a handful of wildfires that scorch a few thousand forest and grassland acres, and sometimes force evacuations and cause property damage. In more active years, fires may be more widespread and damage more extensive, but it is quite rare to get large persistent wildfires in Western Oregon and Washington. This is because areas west of the Cascades are traditionally wetter and more humid due to their proximity to the Pacific Ocean.

The primary drivers of wildfires across the Pacific Northwest are lightning from thunderstorms, and events where strong winds, hot temperatures and low humidities occur all at once.

On Labor Day, we saw an optimal collision of powerful post-frontal winds, warm temperatures and dry air. This created a highly volatile environment for the threat of rapid fire spread. A rare aspect of this event was the unusual wind direction. In more typical fire events, winds are generally from the west, but on Labor Day this year we saw strong gusty winds out of the northeast — a most unusual wind direction for early September.

The intensity of the winds was enough to cause concern, but coming from the northeast increased the potential for downed trees and electrical wires, given our vegetation is more used to withstanding southerly and westerly winds. Downed power lines can easily result in sparks, and we all know it only takes one spark to cause a raging fire.

While the ultimate cause of the fires remain under investigation, several fast-moving fires did develop on Labor Day, as well as a dust storm. In Washington, some 80% of the town of Malden was destroyed by a fast-moving fire. Fires near Basin City and Prosser destroyed two homes and multiple outbuildings, as well as a train bridge that crosses the Yakima River. In Oregon, a fire near Umatilla jumped the Umatilla River once and Interstate 82 twice, resulting in the closure of I-82 for several hours, evacuations and damage to an unknown number of structures.

While things improved across Eastern Washington and Oregon by the evening of Monday, Sept. 7, things only got worse toward the Cascade Crest and points west, as strong downslope winds developed. These winds are especially dangerous for wildfires because they force air to descend, warming and drying as it does so. This is why we now see some of the largest fires in Oregon’s history west of the Cascades, burning near Medford, Salem, Eugene and even Portland.

Fire season traditionally begins to wind down in mid-September, but given the lack of rainfall and the unseasonably warm pattern we’ve been in, the 2020 season may extend into October. On top of the burned homes and other structures, the extensive smoke from such large fires will likely generate air quality issues for some time, especially as we move into our typically poor air quality season.

Whether we see a weather pattern that suppresses fire activity in the next few weeks or not, one thing is certain — the 2020 fire season will go down in the history books as one of Oregon’s worst in terms of the number of acres burned, structures lost and lives impacted. Let’s keep those who have lost homes and/or loved ones in our thoughts, especially considering how extraordinarily complex and stressful American life already is in 2020.