SPRINGFIELD, Ore. (KTVZ) — Due to recent precipitation and moderating conditions, the Willamette National Forest announced Thursday it is reducing public use restrictions, also known as fire restrictions, lowering the fire danger level to “moderate” and reducing the Industrial Fire Precaution Level to IFPL II. Forest fires are still a threat, so visitors are asked to
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The Bald Mountain Fire Lookout is the tallest lookout tower on the Fremont-Winema Forest. Ron Rommel has been staffing the tower since 2019.
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The Umatilla County Sheriff’s Office on Monday dropped Level 3 “Go Now” evacuation orders near the Bensel Fire that broke out Sunday in Hermiston, prompting Gov. Tina Kotek to invoke the Emergency Conflagration Act, allowing the state fire marshal to mobilize firefighter task forces from around the state to protect life and property.
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(Update: Adding Thursday update, reduced acreage) Shaded fuel break being created along Cascade Lakes Highway SISTERS, Ore. (KTVZ) – Due to the rugged terrain, safe access issues and the location in a wilderness area, Petes Lake fire officials have decided to shift to a more indirect approach to putting out the blaze, they said Thursday.
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Three small spot fires from the Lookout Fire were discovered Wednesday morning east of Highway 126 and four miles north of Belknap Springs, prompting ODOT to close the highway between U.S. Highway 20 on the north and state Highway 242 to the south for several hours.
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A new wildfire southeast of Wasco in north-central Oregon raced across more than 2,300 acres on both sides of the John Day River on Tuesday, prompting closure of a state highway and nearby Cottonwood Canyon State Park, but crews stopped the blaze and officials said both reopened Wednesday.
Continue ReadingSPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — The men found dead in two wildfires that ignited in eastern Washington earlier this month have been identified, and the number of homes destroyed has been confirmed at more than 350. Carl Grub, 86, died on Aug. 18 near an intersection in Medical Lake west of Spokane in the area of
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Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek has invoked the Emergency Conflagration Act for the 71,000-acre Smith River Complex at the California-Oregon border to allow the Oregon State Fire Marshal to mobilize structural firefighting resources to protect life and property.
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The two largest fires among 14 sparked by lightning in what’s now being managed as the Tyee Ridge Complex merged over the weekend in northwest Douglas County as the blazes have grown to nearly 2,900 acres, with 5% containment, officials said Monday.
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The lightning-sparked Camp Creek Fire on the Mt. Hood National Forest has grown to about 1,600 acres, burning in the Bull Run Watershed that serves about 1 million Portland-area residents, but better weather limited its growth on Sunday, officials said.
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As Central Oregon continues to deal with unhealthy smoke levels from fires to our west, firefighters tackling the Lookout, Bedrock and other fires on the Willamette National Forest are reporting more progress on containing them, while also tackling new blazes sparked by recent lightning.
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More than 2,000 lightning strikes hit the Northwest Thursday night and early Friday, sending numerous initial-attack crews out to reported fires and prompting officials to plead for extra caution to prevent human-caused blazes.
Continue ReadingSALEM, Ore. (AP) — A fast-moving fire prompting authorities to urge more than 600 residents near Oregon’s capital city of Salem to flee their homes has been contained, officials said Thursday. Salem city officials said Thursday afternoon on Facebook that the Liberty fire was 100% contained with some hot spots and other hazards remaining. Officials
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The Juniper Creek Fire west of Lake Billy Chinook is now 90% contained, officials said Wednesday as miles of fire hose were rolled up, firefighter numbers declined and management of the blaze was turned over to a local Type 4 team.
Continue ReadingSALEM, Ore. (AP) — Authorities told hundreds of people near Salem, Oregon, to evacuate immediately on Wednesday afternoon because of a fast-moving wildfire. The Marion County Sheriff’s Office in a statement just before 4 p.m. told people in the area of Jory Hill Road South and west of Skyline Road South to leave without delay
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For a second year, Deschutes County invites communities to apply for grants that will provide funding for projects that reduce the risk of wildfire.
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Winds cleared out the dense smoke and allowed air operations to resume on the now over 13,000-acre Lookout Fire north of McKenzie Bridge on the Willamette National Forest, now 6%% contained, while the Bedrock Fire grew to over 31,000 acres, at 35% containment.
Continue ReadingNEWHALEM, Wash. (AP) — A section of major cross-state highway that closed earlier this month because of a wildfire in Washington state’s North Cascades National Park will reopen Wednesday. The Washington state Department of Transportation initially closed State Route 20 or the North Cascades Highway between Newhalem and Rainy Day Pass on Aug. 4 to
Continue ReadingBy LISA BAUMANN Associated Press A second person has died in wildfires in eastern Washington state that ignited on Friday, burning hundreds of structures and closing a section of a major interstate for days, fire officials said. A body was found in the area burned by the Oregon fire north of Spokane on Sunday afternoon,
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HAMBURG, Calif. (AP) — Weekend lightning strikes ignited new wildfires near a complex of blazes that have been burning since last week through the Klamath National Forest near California’s border with Oregon, authorities said Monday. The lightning on Sunday accompanied heavy rain showers that caused mudslides that closed parts of State Route 96, but the
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