# Almeda Drive Fire > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Almeda_Drive_Fire > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Almeda_Drive_Fire.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Almeda_Drive_Fire > Source revision: 1338504087 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) 2020 Oregon wildfire Almeda Drive Fire Almeda Drive Fire smoke plume from Interstate 5 Date September 8 (8-09) – September 15, 2020 (2020-09-15) (7 days) Location Jackson County, Oregon Coordinates 42°12′43″N 122°42′51″W / 42.2120°N 122.7141°W / 42.2120; -122.7141 Statistics Burned area 3,200 acres (1,295 ha; 5 sq mi; 13 km2) Impacts Deaths 3 Structures destroyed 3,000+ Ignition Cause Human origin Map Location within Oregon 2020 Western U.S. wildfires Multiple wildfires burning near the Pacific coast of the U.S. on September 9, 2020 Affected states Arizona (Maricopa) California (August) Colorado Nevada New Mexico Oregon Utah Washington (Labor Day) Background 2020–23 North American drought Wildfires in the United States Largest wildfire by state Arizona - Bush (193,455 acres) California - August Complex (1,032,648 acres) Colorado - Cameron Peak (208,913 acres) Nevada - Meadow Valley (59,265 acres) New Mexico - Cub (25,950 acres) Oregon - Santiam (402,274 acres) Utah - East Fork (89,765 acres) Washington - Pearl Hill (223,730 acres) v t e The **Almeda Drive Fire** was a devastating wildfire in [Jackson County, Oregon](/source/Jackson_County%2C_Oregon). The fire started on September 8, 2020 near [Ashland, Oregon](/source/Ashland%2C_Oregon) and was deemed to be of human origin.[1] Prior to the fire, most of the [Pacific Northwest](/source/Pacific_Northwest), including all of Oregon, was under drought conditions by spring due to below-average precipitation in the months prior.[2] The fire started behind Almeda Drive on September 8, 2020, at 11:07 AM.[3][4] Within two hours, the fire had reached the south part of [Talent](/source/Talent%2C_Oregon), and four hours after it started, it was burning in [Phoenix](/source/Phoenix%2C_Oregon).[5] Wind gusts of 40–45 miles (64–72 km) and severe drought conditions contributed to the rapid spread.[6] The fire was contained by September 15, 2020.[7] The burn area was 3,200 acres (13 km2),[8] and over 3,000 structures were destroyed.[9] ## See also - [List of Oregon wildfires](/source/List_of_Oregon_wildfires) ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** Etling, Bert (September 7, 2022). ["Two years later, Almeda Fire remains under investigation"](https://ashland.news/two-years-later-almeda-fire-remains-under-investigation/). *Ashland News*. Retrieved February 14, 2026. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** Lindsey, Rebecca (May 26, 2020). ["Drought emerges across the Pacific Northwest in spring 2020"](https://www.climate.gov/news-features/event-tracker/drought-emerges-across-pacific-northwest-spring-2020). *[Climate.gov](/source/Climate.gov)*. Retrieved August 13, 2025. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Dohrmann, Sharon (June 28, 2025). ["Ashland Wasn't Built with Wildfire in Mind — It's Time to Adapt"](https://ashlandclimate.org/lessons-learned-from-the-almeda-fire/). *Ashland Climate Collaborative*. Retrieved February 14, 2026. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** NewsWatch 12 (September 9, 2021). [*Radio calls tell the story of the Almeda Fire's first desperate hours*](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUXrQHNQG3s) (Video). Retrieved August 12, 2025 – via YouTube.{{[cite AV media](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Cite_AV_media)}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list ([link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:CS1_maint:_numeric_names:_authors_list)) CS1 maint: url-status ([link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:CS1_maint:_url-status)) 1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** Nauman, Rich (October 9, 2020). ["Mapping the Almeda Drive Fire"](https://www.esri.com/arcgis-blog/products/arcgis-online/mapping/mapping-the-almeda-drive-fire). *ArcGIS Blog*. Retrieved August 13, 2025. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** Bernton, Hal (October 4, 2020). ["Urban wildfire: When homes are the fuel for a runaway blaze, how do you rebuild a safer community?"](https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/urban-wildfire-when-homes-are-the-fuel-for-a-runaway-blaze-how-do-you-rebuild-a-safer-community/). *[The Seattle Times](/source/The_Seattle_Times)*. Retrieved February 14, 2026. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** ["Almeda fire 100% contained, officials say Tuesday"](https://www.oregonlive.com/environment/2020/09/almeda-fire-100-contained-officials-say-tuesday.html). *[The Oregonian](/source/The_Oregonian)*. September 15, 2020. Retrieved February 14, 2026. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** O'Connor, Erin Patrick (October 20, 2020). ["12 hours inside Oregon's Almeda Fire"](https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/10/20/oregon-almeda-fire/). *Washington Post*. Retrieved February 14, 2026. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** Neumann, Erik; Moriarty, Liam (September 20, 2020). ["The Almeda Drive Fire Causes Extensive Damage To Talent and Phoenix"](https://web.archive.org/web/20200910205524/https://www.ijpr.org/2020-09-08/fire-in-ashland-leads-to-limited-evacuations). *[Jefferson Public Radio](/source/Jefferson_Public_Radio)*. Archived from the original on September 10, 2020. Retrieved September 10, 2020. v t e 2020 wildfires Asia Uttarakhand, India Turkey Europe Chernobyl exclusion zone, Ukraine North America Western United States Arizona Maricopa Bighorn Bush Central Mangum Polles Wood Springs 2 California August North Complex Orange Skies Day Colorado Cameron Peak East Canyon East Troublesome Grizzly Creek Mullen Pine Gulch Nevada Brown Mahogany Numbers Pinehaven Poeville New Mexico Vics Peak Oregon Almeda Drive Archie Creek Beachie Creek Holiday Farm Lionshead Santiam Slater Utah Canal Washington Labor Day fires Lump Gulch Fire South America Córdoba, Argentina Paraná Delta, Argentina Amazon and Pantanal, Brazil Oceania Australia 2019–20 2020–21 ◀ 2019 2021 ▶ v t e Oregon wildfires Pre-2000 Yacolt (1902) Tillamook (1933–1951) 2000–2015 Biscuit (2002) B&B (2003) Tumblebug (2009) Lava (2012) Long Draw (2012) Barry Point (2013) 2017 Chetco Bar Cinder Butte Eagle Creek High Cascades Complex Milli Nash Whitewater 2018 Boxcar Graham Jack Knife Klamathon Klondike Long Hollow Miles South Valley Substation Post-2018 2020 Almeda Drive Archie Creek Beachie Creek Holiday Farm Lionshead Santiam Slater 2021 Bootleg Jack 2022 Cedar Creek 2023 Alder Creek Devils Butte Flat Golden 2024 Durkee Little Yamsay 2025 Rowena Cram Burdoin Flat 2026 Category Commons --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Almeda Drive Fire](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Almeda_Drive_Fire) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Almeda_Drive_Fire?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.