New grass fire forces evacuations in Wasco County

DUFUR, Ore. (AP) – Authorities issued mandatory evacuation notices Thursday night to residents southeast of The Dalles because of a new grass dfire.

The Wasco County Sheriff’s Office said on Facebook Thursday evening that residents along the Deschutes River from Sherars Falls to Mack’s Canyon should leave their homes immediately, under a Level 3 evacuation order.

The Central Oregon Interagency Dispatch Center says the Long Hollow Fire started around 4:30 p.m. Thursday on Long Hollow Road south of Dufur and had burned 6,300 acres (nearly 8 square miles) by nightfall.

In the same area last week, a man died in the Substation fire, which has burned, nearly 80,000 acres.