This story was produced by the Oregon Journalism Project , a nonprofit newsroom covering the state.

Despite early forecasts of a punishing 2025 wildfire season, Oregon escaped relatively unscathed.

The season started with an ominous blaze. In just a few days in June, the Rowena Fire, just west of The Dalles, destroyed 56 homes and 100 additional structures. By that measure, the Oregon Department of Forestry said, it was the one of the state’s worst ever.

But midseason rains, cooler temperatures, and quicker responses prevented wider damage across the state during the fire season, ODF said.

Here’s what an OJP analysis of available Forestry Department data found.

The amount of fire-damaged acres was way down, but the number of fires was higher:

Less than 400,000 acres burned in

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