The Cedar Creek Fire is a large

wildfire A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of Combustibility and flammability, combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire ...

in the U.S. state of Oregon that began on August 1, 2022, with a series of lightning strikes in the

Willamette National Forest The Willamette National Forest is a National Forest located in the central portion of the Cascade Range of the U.S. state of Oregon. It comprises . Over 380,000 acres (694 mi2, 1,540 km2) are designated wilderness which include seven ...

approximately east of Oakridge. By September 8, the fire had reached over . By September 10, it was over 74,000 acres; 30,000 foot high

pyrocumulonimbus The cumulonimbus flammagenitus cloud (CbFg), also known as the pyrocumulonimbus cloud, is a type of cumulonimbus cloud that forms above a source of heat, such as a wildfire or volcanic eruption, and may sometimes even extinguish the fire that ...

clouds from the fire were producing their own lightning; Oakridge was evacuated. Smoke from the fire moved into

Southwest Washington Southwest Washington is a geographical area of the U.S. state of Washington, encompassing roughly half of Western Washington. It generally includes the Olympia area southwards to the Oregon-Washington state line at Vancouver. Olympia, the state ca ...

then the

Puget Sound region The Puget Sound region is a coastal area of the Pacific Northwest in the U.S. state of Washington, including Puget Sound, the Puget Sound lowlands, and the surrounding region roughly west of the Cascade Range and east of the Olympic Mountains. ...

on September 10; on that day

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

recorded the worst air quality of any major city in the world. By September 11 it had grown to 86,000 acres. Over 2,000 homes were evacuated.

Events

August

Late in the day on August 1, the fire was ignited by a lightning strike. It was first detected about west of

Waldo Lake Waldo Lake is a natural alpine lake in the Cascade Mountains of the U.S. state of Oregon. It is the second largest natural non-alkali lake in Oregon with just under of water surface and a maximum depth of . The lake is named after Oregon politic ...

in the

. Firefighters were slow to contain the fire, due to the rough and unsafe terrain surrounding the wildfire. The fire was estimated to be at around 5 acres on August 2, and was later estimated to be at on early in the day on August 3, and a later estimate that day stated it was . On August 3, the fire started moving more north and east and started burning in heavy timber and by August 4, it had grown to around , and smoke was predicted to affect the cities of Bend and

Sisters A sister is a woman or a girl who shares one or more parents with another individual; a female sibling. The male counterpart is a brother. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to refer to ...

, Oregon. An infrared reading on August 5 sized the fire at around . On August 15, the fire grew to 4,422 acres with 0% containment. An area closure of all trailheads and dispersed camping North and West of

and Temporary Flight Restrictions were in effect. On August 27, the fire grew to 7,632 acres with 0% containment. Area closures remained in effect North and West of

. Calm weather provided better opportunities for fire supression. Firelines were continuing to be constructed using minimum impact supressrion tactics (MIST) to reduce negative impacts on the ecosystem.

September

On September 25, the fire grew to 114,104 acres with 20% containment. 44 engines, 28 crews, 68 heavy equipment, and 9 helicopters were staffed for fire supression.

October

On October 27, the fire grew to 127,283 acres with 60% containment. Due to temperatures dropping and humidity rising, fire progression reduced drastically. 4 engines, 2 crews, 1 helicopter, and 2 masticators were staffed for fire supression. Closures had reduced on the

Deschutes National Forest The Deschutes National Forest is a United States National Forest located in parts of Deschutes, Klamath, Lake, and Jefferson counties in central Oregon. It comprises along the east side of the Cascade Range. In 1908, the Deschutes National ...

and

. Air quality ranged from good to moderate within the forecasted area. Lane County evacuations had been lifted.

Impacts

Smoke from the Cedar Creek Fire that blew into

, to the north, caused the city to record the worst air quality of any major city in the world. Smoke also blew into the Eugene area.

Fire progression and containment

References

External links

* {{Oregon wildfires 2022 Oregon wildfires 2022 in Washington (state) 2022 Washington (state) wildfires Wildfires in Washington (state) Wildfires in Oregon