Forest along the Columbia River Gorge looks a little like a calico cat, with patches of lush green, dried green and scorched black trees. Kristian Foden-Vencil / OPB

The Willamette Valley could get the most rain it's had in at least three months starting this weekend.

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As the region begins to retreat from a summer of unprecedented heat, cooler temperatures and more rain could provide relief for firefighters battling the nearly 42,000-acre Eagle Creek Fire burning in the Columbia River Gorge.

"It'll definitely knock out a lot of the smoke and kind of a lot of this grimy haze that's been hanging around," said David Bishop, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. "We're pushing more and more out of our summer pattern and going into a fall-type pattern."

Bishop said the region could see as much as an inch of rain, and temperatures will remain in the 70s and low 80s.

The Gorge typically gets significantly more precipitation levels than the surrounding area. Bishop said any rain amount should be able to help firefighters working against record-dry conditions.

While the winter is a little ways off, Bishop says it's never too late to start preparing for it.

"There's absolutely nothing wrong with starting to prepare now for the winter, rather then trying to react," said Bishop.

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