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Good morning, Northwest.

This weekend will mark five years since the deadliest wildfires on record in Oregon. Fires over Labor Day weekend in 2020 killed 11 people and destroyed thousands of homes.

OPB is spending the next several days looking at how the Labor Day fires changed Oregon and Oregonians.

We start with a story by OPB climate editor Courtney Sherwood on what the state lost and what it learned in those blazes. That story leads off this morning’s newsletter.

This coverage comes as crews in Central Oregon are battling the Flat Fire, which broke out in Jefferson County late last week. They have slowed the fire’s move toward Sisters.

Today’s newsletter finishes with a meditation from KMHD contributor J Jackson on Northwest hip-hop and why it isn’t a bigger thing.

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

— Bradley W. Parks

5 years ago the Labor Day fires scorched Oregon. What has the state learned?

The year 2020 transformed how Oregon thinks about and responds to fire.

Some people who lost their homes are still fighting for stability. Others have won multimillion-dollar court judgments and settlements. But Oregon still lacks a long-term plan to pay for the next big conflagration.

As Labor Day 2025 approaches, OPB is looking back at the long, fiery weekend that changed thousands of lives, and forced Oregon to take a closer look at fire in a changing world. (Courtney Sherwood)

Learn more

Find all of OPB’s Labor Day fires coverage here.

5 things to know this morning

• Fire crews announced yesterday that they are quickly building fire lines around the southern edge of the Flat Fire, where it had been moving toward the town of Sisters. (Jeff Thompson and Kathryn Styer Martínez)

• Oregon lawmakers held the first public hearing on the latest transportation funding proposal from Gov. Tina Kotek. Speakers ranged from ODOT workers’ whose jobs are on the line to people visibly angry about the prospect of higher taxes. (Dirk VanderHart)

• Kotek signed four bills intended to ensure energy affordability for Oregonians. The bills also focus on preventing residential power shutoffs and holding large energy users accountable. (Monica Samayoa)

• A new homeless shelter planned for Portland’s Pearl District is set to open next week, despite strong opposition from some neighborhood groups. It’s the fifth of Mayor Keith Wilson’s overnight-only shelters to open since he took office in January, and the first in this part of town. (Alex Zielinski)

• Police arrested Brian Tenney, owner of West Coast Game Park Safari, on Friday in Bandon following a grand jury indictment on more than 300 counts of felony animal neglect as well as charges of racketeering, delivery of methamphetamine and possession of a machine gun. (Justin Higginbottom)

Headlines from around the Northwest

• In Beaverton, it’s the first day of school for teachers, too (Elizabeth Miller)

• Oregon Rep. Cliff Bentz defends cuts made in Big Beautiful Bill (Amelia Templeton)

• Clackamas County investigates possible heat-related death (Riley Martinez)

• Portland Fire tap leader from rival team to serve as general manager (Kyra Buckley)

• Author Rebecca Yarros to appear at Portland Book Festival in November (Meagan Cuthill)

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):

• 2 Almeda Fire survivors share why they left Southern Oregon — and why 1 is coming back

• Portland refugee reflects on 8-year anniversary of Rohingya genocide, new life in US

Why isn’t Portland hip-hop a bigger thing? A short history

Portland isn’t known as a hip-hop city — despite its long history of sonic experimentation and wealth of talent.

KMHD Jazz Radio and OPB’s “Oregon Experience” teamed up to learn why, calling in Portland’s hip-hop pioneers to share their insights.

Click the button below to watch “Beyond The Beats,” a short documentary on Portland hip-hop’s past, present and future. (J Jackson)

Learn more

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News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2025/08/26/labor-day-fires-oregon-anniversary-first-look/