At this time period Oregon was having a lot of wildfires and everyone was concerned about having clear skies for the night stars and the eclipse in just a few days.
History:
The 2017 fire season in the state of Oregon was a particularly notable one. There has been a trend for the last three decades that shows an increase in the overall number of wildfires as well as the fire season length in the state of Oregon. In 2017 Oregon experienced a total of 1,069 reported wildfires: with 779 human ignited and 290 ignited by lightning strikes. These fires burned a total area of 451,863 acres. The catalyst for these fires was the abnormal weather patterns that persisted throughout 2017.
