Impact of Oregon Wildfires on Chinook Salmon

Print composition created for HCI 512: Data Visualization

Overview

2020 was the worst wildfire season in Oregon state history, with over 1m acres burned. Nearly all of those fires occurred over a two week period in early September, with the Santiam Fire Complex burning a record 400,000 acres and is the third largest wildfire in the entirety of the state fire record. 

Outside of the traumatic destruction and displacement and millions of dollars in property damage, wildfires pose a significant threat to Chinook Salmon populations. Decreased water flow due to downed trees, log jams and landslides coupled with increased water temperature and soil degradation threaten the species. 

The goal of my composition is to explore the relationship between wildfire and salmon habitat through the lens of acres burned over time and potential habitat threat:

• Do wildfires occur in critical Chinook Salmon habitat? 

• Are the largest wildfires occurring with significance in Chinook salmon habitat? 

• When Chinook salmon populations are mapped against historical large wildfires, is there any pattern or correlation?