CORVALLIS, Ore. — As wildfire seasons grow longer and more intense, understanding fire’s diverse behavior in Oregon is critical.
In response, the Oregon State University Extension Service has published Not All Flame’s the Same, a collection of accessible resources exploring how fire has shaped Oregon’s landscapes — past and present.
Not All Flame’s the Same introduces readers to foundational fire ecology concepts and explains how fire regimes — patterns of frequency, size and intensity — vary across regions.
“This publication helps Oregonians understand that fire behaves differently depending on where you are in the state,” said Carrie Berger, manager of the OSU Extension Fire Program, who coordinated the project with Fire Program Director EJ Davis. “Not All Flame’s the Same was a response to growing interest in fire across all corners of the state. We wanted to offer a new way to for people to learn about fire in their places.”
Fire behaves differently depending on the fuels, weather and topography of a place as well as human interaction. Across seven of Oregon’s ecoregions, fire has played both ecological and cultural roles — from recycling nutrients and shaping wildlife habitat to stewarding land and cultures.
Not All Flame’s the Same introduces readers to foundational fire ecology concepts and explains how fire regimes — patterns of frequency, size and intensity — vary across regions. Seven brief publications focus on Oregon’s major ecoregions including the Coast Range, Willamette Valley and Western Cascades, Southwest Oregon, East Cascades, Columbia Plateau, Blue Mountains and the Northern Great Basin.
Each regional publication brings fire’s story to life in a local context — describing how historic fire patterns, Indigenous practices, climate and vegetation interact to shape today's landscapes and challenges.
These resources are especially timely as Oregon Senate Bill 762 — passed in 2021 — allocated over $220 million to enhance the state's wildfire preparedness through key strategies aimed at modernizing Oregon's approach to wildfire adaptation. Oregon policymakers are continuing to develop strategies for effective mitigation and response in the current legislative session.
In 2024, the Extension Fire Program also hosted a webinar titled “Not All Flame is the Same,” which drew over 500 registrants and, within weeks, had been viewed more than 250 times on YouTube. The hour-long session showcased how fire shapes Oregon’s ecosystems and featured insights from the program’s team of regional fire specialists.
The Extension Fire Program works closely with partners including the Oregon Department of Forestry, the Oregon Department of the State Fire Marshal, the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management as well as local watershed councils and fire-adapted communities.
Contributing authors to Not All Flame’s the Same included Extension Fire Program regional specialists Christopher Adlam, Kayla Bordelon, Ariel Cowan, Aaron Groth, Micah Schmidt and Katherine Wollstein.
Contributing authors also included Manuel Machado, who coordinates the Extension Fire Program’s Natural Resource Workforce Program, and OSU Extension foresters Glenn Ahrens and John Punches.
Not All Flame's the Same was funded by the Oregon Forest Resources Institute.
