One of the world's tallest and oldest Douglas Fir trees caught on fire in Oregon on August 16, 2025. Federal, state and local agencies worked to extinguish the fire. Some of the heroes to save the tree were firefighters, volunteer tree climbers, and helicopter pilots. The Coos Fire Protective Association and the Bureau of Land Management led the firefighting efforts. The BLM is the federal agency that manages the tree and its surroundings. Oregon Tree Care in Oregon City was among others to assist.
Finally, after almost a week the fire was extinguished. The tree, however, may no longer be one of the tallest Douglas firs in the world. About 50 feet of its top was lost to the fire and to pieces of the tree falling out. Before the fire, it had been recognized as the tallest measured Douglas fir and the tallest non-redwood tree in the Americas.
Known as the Doerner Fir, once called the Brummit Fir, it is estimated to be over 450 years old. It stood 325 feet tall before the fire and is 11 ½ feet in diameter. The tree is located in the Southern Oregon Coast Range mountains about 50 miles from Coos Bay.
Cause of the fire is not known. So far, investigators have ruled out a lightning strike after analyzing six weeks of weather data. Because the Doerner Fir was the only tree burning in the area, authorities suspect the fire may have been intentionally set, but evidence gathering continues.
The tree contained lots of dried moss, bark that had built up over the summer, and a lot of oozing pitch. All those conditions could have made the tree more flammable.
Helicopters dropped buckets of water on the fir. Sprinklers and containment lines were placed around its base. Three days after the fire was discovered, an infrared drone found no flames but detected heat from high up in the tree's cavity.
That's when volunteer tree climbers got involved. On August 21, they climbed the tree and used a hose to put out the remaining fire. They also helped to install a sprinkler system in an attempt to prevent future fire damage to the famous fir.
The tree remains alive and may live many more years, thanks to the efforts of lots of caring people.