PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – As the Flat Fire burns through Central Oregon, an actor known for his role on “The Office” is voicing concerns over climate change amplifying wildfire activity as he and his family are among thousands under an evacuation order from the blaze.
The Flat Fire was first reported on August 21, about three miles west of Lake Billy Chinook, burning around 3,300 acres. The following day, Oregon Governor Tina Kotek invoked the Emergency Conflagration Act to send more resources to battle the blaze.
As of Wednesday, 16 structures have been destroyed by the Flat Fire and at least two have been damaged. The fire is estimated to cover roughly 23,000 acres and is only 7% contained, according to the Oregon Fire Marshal’s office. Widespread evacuations remain in effect.
Among those who have evacuated because of the Flat Fire are actor Rainn Wilson, well-known for his role as Dwight Schrute on the sitcom “The Office,” and his family.
“Here’s a fun fact,” Wilson said in an Instagram video posted Monday. “I have just undergone – along with my wife, Holiday Reinhorn, and family – an evacuation from our Oregon mountain cabin.”
Wilson continued, saying this is the fourth time since 2019 that he and his family have had to evacuate because of a wildfire.
“As you know, the last year we evacuated, we lost about half of our house in the fires that tore through the Los Angeles area late last year. So, we’re staying at a friend’s house and I’m starting to take this personally,” Wilson joked. “But I know it’s not a personal matter, it’s actually a science matter.”
“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.
The post ‘Starting to take this personally’: ‘The Office’ actor flees home, again, amid Oregon wildfire appeared first on WHNT.
