PORTLAND, Oregon (KOIN) – As the Flat Fire rages through Central Oregon, actor Rainn Wilson, famously known for his role as Dwight Schrute on “The Office,” is raising alarms about the escalating wildfire risks tied to climate change. He and his family find themselves among thousands forced to evacuate from their home as the flames encroach.
The Flat Fire ignited on August 21, approximately three miles from Lake Billy Chinook, consuming around 3,300 acres initially. In response, Oregon Governor Tina Kotek activated the Emergency Conflagration Act to bolster firefighting efforts.
By Wednesday, destruction had claimed 16 structures, with an additional two suffering damage. The blaze now spans an estimated 23,000 acres and is only 7% contained, as reported by the Oregon Fire Marshal’s office, prompting widespread evacuation orders.
Among those impacted by this fire is Rainn Wilson, who shared an update with his followers on Instagram. “Here’s a fun fact,” Wilson said in a video posted on Monday. “I have just undergone – along with my wife, Holiday Reinhorn, and family – an evacuation from our Oregon mountain cabin.”
In his post, Wilson noted that this marks the fourth evacuation for his family due to wildfires since 2019. “Last time we had to evacuate, we lost about half of our house in the fires that swept through the Los Angeles area late last year. So now we’re staying at a friend’s house, and I’m starting to take this personally,” he quipped, while emphasizing the scientific aspects of the crisis.
“I’m just an actor, but let’s talk science,” Wilson urged, referencing data that highlights the unusually dry conditions in the western states over the last 25 years as documented in a 2024 report by the Los Angeles Times. “Human-induced climate change is significantly driving these wildfires.”
NASA reinforces that an increasing global temperature is intensifying wildfire occurrences, particularly in temperate forests. A recent study published in Nature in 2024 revealed that extreme wildfire activity has more than doubled globally.
“NASA’s Terra and Aqua satellites report on active wildfires twice daily,” the agency revealed. “Over the past 21 years, they’ve documented a rise in frequency, intensity, and scale of extreme wildfires, particularly in the Western U.S. and northern forests.”
While natural weather fluctuations do occur, NASA insists that the primary driver behind the increase in “fire weather” is human-induced climate change.
For Wilson, enduring four evacuation experiences has proven to be both challenging and exhausting. He appealed for action against carbon dioxide emissions in his latest post. “Everywhere I go on the West Coast, fires are devastating the land, and it breaks my heart for our forests,” he lamented. “For the future of our great, great grandchildren, let’s limit CO2 emissions, plant trees, and promote clean air.”
The cause of the ongoing Flat Fire in Oregon is still under investigation.