PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – A wildfire known as the Flat Fire continues to rage across Central Oregon, prompting an actor from “The Office” to express concerns about climate change exacerbating wildfire incidents. The actor and his family are among many under mandatory evacuation due to the fire.
The Flat Fire was initially reported on August 21, located roughly three miles west of Lake Billy Chinook, affecting approximately 3,300 acres. In response, Oregon Governor Tina Kotek invoked the Emergency Conflagration Act to allocate additional resources to combat the fire.
As of Wednesday, 16 structures have been lost and at least two have suffered damage. The fire spans an estimated 23,000 acres and remains only 7% contained, as per the Oregon Fire Marshal’s updates. Extensive evacuation orders are ongoing.
Among the evacuees is actor Rainn Wilson, famously known for portraying Dwight Schrute on the TV show “The Office,” along with his family.
“Here’s an interesting tidbit,” Wilson mentioned in an Instagram video shared on Monday. “I, along with my wife, Holiday Reinhorn, and family, have just evacuated from our mountain cabin in Oregon.”
Wilson continued, saying this is the fourth time since 2019 that he and his family have had to evacuate because of a wildfire.
“Last year, we faced an evacuation as well, losing about half of our home in the wildfires that swept through the Los Angeles area late last year. We’re currently at a friend’s house, and I’m beginning to feel this is personal,” Wilson quipped. “However, I recognize it’s not a personal issue, but rather a scientific one.”
“Now, let’s talk a little science. Now, I’m a dumb actor, okay? So, look it up. Google it,” Wilson said. “Over the last 1,200 years in the western states, the last 25 have been the driest on record,” Wilson said, citing a 2024 report from the Los Angeles Times. “And part of the reason for these fires going up and down the West Coast is the extreme weather events caused by human-made climate change.”
According to NASA, Earth’s warming climate is fueling wildfire activity, especially in northern and temperate forests. A 2024 study published in Nature determined that, worldwide, extreme wildfire activity has more than doubled.
“NASA’s Terra and Aqua satellites detect active wildfires twice each day,” the agency said. “Scientists studied this data over a 21-year span and found that extreme wildfires have become more frequent, more intense, and larger. The largest increase in extreme fire behavior was in the temperate conifer forests of the Western U.S. and the boreal forests of northern North America and Russia.”
While it isn’t uncommon for the weather to vary, NASA continues, the main cause for an increase in “fire weather” is human-caused climate change.
For Wilson, undergoing four wildfire evacuations has been “difficult and strenuous.” He used his Monday post to call for limits on carbon dioxide emissions to mitigate the effects of climate change.
“No matter where I go on the West Coast, there’s fires ravaging the land and it makes me really sad for our forests,” Wilson said in the video. “So, for God’s sake, for the planet’s sake, let’s do something for our great, great grandchildren and simply limit CO2 and other heat-trapping gases and plant trees and create clean air.”
The cause of the Flat Fire burning in Oregon has not been determined.
