Union County hit 100% drought as summer heat looms

Union County is heading into peak summer with every acre under drought and fire restrictions already in place. The latest U.S. Drought Monitor map shows the county split between 5.66% abnormally dry, 77.28% in severe drought and 17.06% in extreme drought, a combination that leaves the county 100% in drought conditions.

The monitor’s June 9 assessment, released June 11, also warns that its map is a broad-scale snapshot and that local conditions can vary. In Union County, the numbers point in the same direction: May was the county’s ninth-driest on record in 132 years, and precipitation from January through May ran 2.44 inches below normal.

That kind of deficit matters quickly in a county where farmers depend on irrigation water and ranchers watch grazing conditions and stock water sources closely. It also raises the stakes for wildfire as grasses and range fuels dry out faster under heat, wind and low humidity. The dryness has already begun to show up in county planning, with officials moving into an early regulated use fire season before the worst of summer weather arrives.

The Union County Board of Commissioners approved the Union County Fire Defense Board’s request on June 3, putting regulated use fire season into effect immediately. County officials said the restriction would remain in force through September 30 unless it is extended or modified, and the Fire Defense Board made its recommendation because of increasingly dry conditions throughout the county.

The county has been here before. In July 2025, Union County issued its own drought declaration, saying nearly all areas had received less than 50% of normal precipitation over the previous 60 days, crop yields were already reduced and irrigation streamflows were declining rapidly. A month later, Governor Tina Kotek declared a drought emergency for Union County, along with Douglas and Morrow counties, and directed state agencies to coordinate and prioritize assistance.

State drought policy gives local officials a path for more help if conditions keep worsening. The Oregon Water Resources Department says the Oregon Drought Readiness Council reviews local requests for assistance and recommends drought declarations to the governor, while the state’s current drought outlook says Oregon is facing potentially extraordinary drought in 2026 because of historically low snowpack, one of the warmest winters in state history and multi-year precipitation deficits.

For Union County, the practical takeaway is immediate: irrigation schedules, fire precautions and summer plans are now being shaped by a countywide drought that is already severe to extreme in most places and could tighten further if the heat stretches on.