PORTLAND, Ore. (KATU) — According to the Northwest Interagency Coordination Center, 550 lightning strikes moved across central and western Oregon on Wednesday and Thursday morning.

Central Oregon Fire Information is reporting dozens of new fire starts in the last 24 hours ranging in size from one quarter acre to 800 acres.

The Pacific Northwest was moved to “Preparedness Level 5,” the highest level on September 6. “At this Preparedness Level (PL) there is significant wildfire activity throughout the U.S. creating a shortage of wildland fire fighting personnel and resources. Pacific NW incident management teams are fully committed to large fires and incident management teams from other parts of the U.S. are needed to manage ongoing and anticipated wildfires in the Pacific NW Region,” NWCC stated on social media. “As hot, dry, windy conditions persist, new large fires continue to emerge. Stay alert, follow fire restrictions, and report any smoke or fire immediately.”

Several new fires have been reported in the Willamette National Forest on the west side of the Cascades. Crews and aircraft have been ordered to try to knock down these wildfires.

The National Weather Service has issued “Red Flag Warnings” for the Cascades and parts of central Oregon.

Abundant lightning is expected Saturday afternoon and evening.