There has been a trend for the last three decades that shows an increase in the overall number of wildfires as well as the fire season length in the state of Oregon.

NASA published images of the Oregon, shown the typically green state to be highly obscured by smoke, as seen from space.

[6] 2017 was unusual for the large number of fires occurring west of the Cascade Range in dense Douglas-fir forest in contrast to the frequent-fire pine ecosystems to the east.

[7] Fires in the Columbia River Gorge shut down Interstate 84, the state's major east–west freeway, for several days in early September.

Between the dates of October 1, 2016, and April 26, 2017, Portland International Airport received 45.5 inches (116 centimeters) of rain.

These storm systems brought rainfall which helped slow the growth of existing wildfires.

Climatic patterns such as these provide ample rainfall throughout the spring which allows for high rates of plant growth.

Cheatgrass is especially dangerous in regards to wildfires because it is highly dependent on water and typically dries out a month before native Oregon grasses.

In areas that have cheatgrass, fire seasons have essentially been lengthened by a month due to the sooner availability of fuel.

[13] Due to its ability to both cause fires and repopulate burned areas cheatgrass is in a positive feedback loop of continual dispersal.

Table contains 2017 wildfires in Oregon that burned over 1,000 acres Others fires include:[31] The majority of the burned area within Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) held land occurred within the SOA fire region which includes the districts: Southwest, Coos, Douglas, South Cascade, and Western Lane.