Field Notes · Living in Bend · August 14, 2026

Wildfire & Smoke Season in Bend, Oregon: The Honest Truth

I moved to Bend in the summer of 1990 — going on 36 years here. Wildfire has been a part of every one of those summers, and this one's no exception. If you're thinking about moving here, you're seeing the doom-and-gloom headlines. Here's what fire season is actually like, backed by the numbers, with zero fear-mongering.

Why this year feels worse (and why it isn't unusual)

We had a very mild winter with a low snowpack — warm, dry days stacking up back in January and February. Us locals kind of knew we'd pay for it later in the year, and here we are. Right now there are 52 active fires across central and eastern Oregon, totaling 600,000-plus acres. That sounds alarming in a headline. But wildfire happens every single summer here; this year is just more top-of-mind because you're the one considering the move. Nothing about it is out of the ordinary going back to 1990 and well before.

The whole western United States — and Canada — is a wildfire region in summer. Bend isn't uniquely vulnerable; it's part of a landscape that burns, the same way Florida gets hurricanes and California gets earthquakes. The question isn't whether it happens. It's whether you can live with it. So let me give you the honest, straight-from-the-heart version.

10,000+ fires, and only five that mattered to homeowners

Here's the perspective the headlines never give you. From 1990 to today — 36 summers — Deschutes County alone has had more than 10,000 wildfires. Roughly 98% you never heard about: a lightning strike, a stray campfire, an ember, sparked and put out almost immediately. About 2% grow enough to get noticed, named, or recorded, and a much smaller slice of that ever gets big enough to threaten anything.

In that entire 36-year span, only five wildfires have taken man-made structures in the area:

The two most destructive were both in the 1990s — the Awbrey Hall Fire of 1990, which took 22 homes on the west side (where Tetherow sits today) and remains the most polarizing fire in Bend's history; it took off like a rocket and was taking homes within half a day. And the Skeleton Fire of 1996 in far southeast Bend, about ten miles from downtown. We haven't had anything as aggressive or as close to town since. Add it all up and it's roughly 50 structures over 36 years — genuinely catastrophic for the families involved, but a tiny fraction against 10,000-plus fires. Most of us here see the smoke in the distance and feel confident that 99% of the time, those fires get contained without threatening anyone.

Smoke vs. fire: they're not the same problem

This is the misconception to clear up. Smoke and actual fire risk are usually only indirectly related. It's rare for the fires themselves to be right up against town — although this year, thanks to the mild winter, we do have some closer than usual. More often, the smoke that rolls in and lingers isn't even ours: it drifts down from Washington, Idaho, Montana, or Canada, gets cinched up against the Cascade Mountains, and hangs out for a couple of days at a time. So you can have hazy skies with no fire anywhere near you.

The air-quality trend is real — and it's climbing

I won't sugarcoat this part, because it's the one that's actually changed. The number of days with an AQI over 100 — the threshold where it's not healthy to be outside — has trended up over my time here. In the early '90s we had fewer than five such days a year. The last five or six years, it's been climbing:

And it can move fast. We've had days this year where the AQI was around 50 at 8 a.m. and 350 by noon — no way to see it coming or plan around it. So if anyone in your household has respiratory sensitivity, this is the single most important variable to weigh honestly.

Bend's "fifth season"

We're famous for our four seasons — but tack on a fifth. August and September are effectively smoke season, and this year it started in July, so we're looking at roughly a two-and-a-half-month stretch where part of your daily routine is checking not just the high temperature but the AQI. It's a real part of living here full-time, and you should walk in knowing it rather than being surprised by it. (For the flip side of the calendar, here's what winter in Bend is actually like.)

What about fire insurance?

Don't be alarmed by the "carriers are dropping everyone" narrative. Yes, premiums have risen and some carriers have pulled back — but no area of Central Oregon has been deemed uninsurable. I've had clients get spooked by a first quote out in the deep woods of La Pine, then get their anxiety completely alleviated by the second, third, and fourth quotes. The move is simple: after you go under contract you get roughly two weeks of due diligence (10 business days plus weekends) — use part of it to talk to local insurance agents and shop quotes. Look for homes with good defensible space, and understand what qualifies as defensible space before you even start touring.

The higher-risk pockets tend to be La Pine, Sunriver, parts of the west side of Bend, and some Sisters areas — but even there, most buyers land on a quote they're comfortable with. My advice: don't choose where to live based on your insurance premium. Find the area of Central Oregon that speaks to you, then handle the insurance piece afterward. I go deep on the mechanics in my Bend wildfire & home insurance guide — read that alongside this one.

So — is Bend actually safe?

Yes. The headlines say don't come, meanwhile there are 150,000 to 200,000 people in and around this town on a summer weekend — residents and vacationers alike — living their lives knowing there's a fire 40 or 50 miles out. Bend hasn't been evacuated for a wildfire in a long time. Sisters is dealing with some of it right now, and last year a fire there took a few structures — that's real and unfortunate. But across hundreds of fires a year and thousands over the decades, the overwhelming majority never pose a threat. It's simply a natural occurrence of the West, and locals learn to manage it at a high level.

I'll shoot you straight: I've had clients ask about the smoke, heard my honest answer, and decided Bend wasn't the right fit for their situation — and that's exactly the right call for them to make with full information. That's the whole point of being honest about it. If you're still weighing it, the bigger-picture question is covered in Is Bend Still Worth Moving To?, and if you're coming from the Golden State, my moving to Bend from California guide walks through the full trade-offs.

Figures reflect a longtime local's firsthand experience and recollection of Central Oregon fire history and air-quality trends; specifics can vary by source and season. This is general information, not insurance advice — always confirm current conditions and coverage with local agencies and licensed insurance professionals.