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Good morning, Northwest.

The Flat Fire erupted in Central Oregon in late August, quickly chewing through thousands of acres of land near Sisters.

The fire destroyed five homes, but it could have been a lot more.

As the blaze nears full containment, reporter Jen Baires writes about how the efforts of firefighters and preparations of residents kept the Flat Fire in check.

Also this morning, President Trump has aimed his ire at sanctuary jurisdictions across the country, including Oregon.

The Beaver State passed the nation’s first sanctuary law, making it illegal to use state resources to enforce federal immigration laws, in 1987. OPB reporters explain how other states have used Oregon’s law as a model and what it means today.

Here’s your First Look at Thursday’s news.

— Bradley W. Parks

Heroic efforts — and preparation — saved hundreds of homes near the Flat Fire

When Tim Flynn evacuated his house on Aug. 22, he took a moment to say goodbye to it.

The Flat Fire was making a run up nearby Whychus Canyon, and the home he shares with his son and daughter was just blocks away.

Flynn’s neighborhood was still under a mandatory evacuation order when he returned, but officials had allowed residents back in to check on their properties.

The Flat Fire erupted in Central Oregon near Sisters on Aug. 21. Within days nearly 4,000 homes were under various levels of evacuation — over half of those, like the Flynn’s, were at Level 3 (Go Now).

Despite the anxiety evacuees like Flynn felt, a combination of swift firefighting efforts and fire prevention long in advance meant the Flat Fire’s legacy is more about the thousands of homes saved instead of lost. (Jen Baires)

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3 things to know this morning

• Since taking office for a second time, President Donald Trump has made immigration enforcement a centerpiece of his administration. Oregon is the oldest sanctuary state in the country, and could soon find itself in conflict with the U.S. Department of Justice. (Emily Hamilton, Conrad Wilson and Troy Brynelson)

• The Beaumont-Wilshire Neighborhood Association has set up cans by several crosswalks along Fremont Street in Northeast Portland, and in them they put neon orange flags for pedestrians to wave as they cross. The flags haven’t stopped drivers from speeding but they have increased visibility. (Riley Martinez)

• The fast-growing Marks Creek Fire broke out Tuesday afternoon in the Ochoco National Forest, and was estimated to have burned at least 2,000 acres about 20 miles northeast of Prineville. The blaze was 0% contained as of yesterday afternoon. (OPB staff)

Oregon’s road funding special legislative session sputters at its midway point

The road to a transportation funding package continues to be riddled with intrigue, political pitfalls and drama. Democrats narrowly pushed the package through one chamber of the Capitol, but not without a defection and Republican help. On today’s 10:30 a.m. live episode of “OPB Politics Now,” reporters Lauren Dake and Dirk VanderHart discuss the Democratic Party’s myriad struggles, how Republicans are reacting and what happens when the session resumes Sept. 17.

Live at 10:30

Headlines from around the Northwest

• Over $500K worth of counterfeit ‘Lafufu’ dolls recovered in Seattle area (Natalie Akane Newcomb)

• A new agreement could get Washington state workers the wage hikes they lost (Jerry Cornfield)

Listen in on OPB’s daily conversation

“Think Out Loud” airs at noon and 8 p.m. weekdays on OPB Radio, opb.org and the OPB News app. Today’s planned topics (subject to change):

• What deflection has looked like in Washington County one year after drug recriminalization

Scientists fight to save Crater Lake’s whitebark pine forests

Crater Lake’s iconic whitebark pine trees had already been dying for decades by the early 2000s.

Park ecologists in this “Oregon Field Guide” story from 2002 estimated that the trees would be wiped out within 50 years. Blister rust, a fungus introduced from Europe over a century ago, had infected trees throughout the West Coast.

In the years since this story aired, scientists have been successful in identifying and propagating whitebark pine trees that have genetic resistance to the blister rust fungus.

Genetically resistant trees have been planted at Crater Lake National Park and in other forests across Oregon to improve the chances that the threatened species will survive.

Stay tuned for a new feature from “Oregon Field Guide” updating this story. (Ed Jahn)

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News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2025/09/04/flat-fire-oregon-first-look/