Associated Press FOREST RANCH, Calif. (AP) — Wildfires across the western United States and Canada put millions of people under air quality alerts on Sunday as thousands of firefighters battled the flames, including the largest wildfire in California this year. The so-called Park Fire had scorched an area greater than the size of Los Angeles
Continue ReadingBy Emma Tucker, CNN (CNN) — As the Park Fire continues to rapidly grow and threaten thousands more acres of northern California, an evacuation warning has been issued for the town of Paradise, a place where people know the horrors of a raging wildfire all too well. In 2018, the deadliest wildfire in state history,
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Several of Oregon’s largest recent wildfires are at or over 50% containment, thanks to the hard work of thousands of firefighters, while others being tackled are still at zero or in the single digits as the total burned surpasses 1 million acres, the Oregon Department of Forestry said in Sunday’s situation update.
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DURKEE, Ore. (KTVZ) – Eastern Oregon’s 11-day-old lightning-sparked Durkee Fire, largest in the state so far this challenging fire season, has grown to more than 288,000 acres, but crews have brought it to 49% containment and the latest state task forces departed Sunday as the structural threat has lessened. California’s massive Park Fire has grown
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Associated Press Decades of snuffing out fires at the first sign of smoke combined with climate change have laid the groundwork for a massive wildfire in northern California and scores of smaller ones across the western U.S. and Canada, experts say. These fires are moving faster and are harder to fight than those in the
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PORTLAND, Ore. (KTVZ) — Due to the intense wildfire activity in the Pacific Northwest, Forest Service leaders in the region said Sunday they have authorized the use of heavy equipment and fire retardant to suppress wildfires in roadless and wilderness areas, on a case-by-case basis. “These aggressive suppression actions are only used when they are
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BURNS, Ore. (KTVZ) – Authorities on Sunday released the name of the single-engine air tanker pilot killed while helping fight an Eastern Oregon wildfire: James Bailey Maxwell, 74, an experienced pilot who had spent 54 years flying and logged about 24,000 hours of flight time. Maxwell was killed late Thursday night in the crash of
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Ground and air crews were called out Saturday afternoon to tackle a new brush fire reported east of George Millican Road and about six miles southwest of Prineville that burned about 20 acres by early evening and held it to that size overnight.
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Associated Press FOREST RANCH, Calif. (AP) — Thousands of firefighters battling a wildfire in Northern California received some help from the weather Saturday hours after it exploded in size, scorching an area greater than the size of Los Angeles. The blaze was one of several tearing through the western United States and Canada, fueled by
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A BLM-contracted single-engine air tanker helping fight a wildfire in Eastern Oregon crashed Thursday evening, killing the pilot on board, authorities said.
Continue ReadingREDMOND, Ore. (KTVZ) Central Oregon Interagency Dispatch reported no new significant fire starts Thursday, a welcome piece of good news among over 100 fires, very large to smaller, being battled across the state after a three-week heat wave with critical conditions. By Friday evening, the Crazy Creek Fire remained at 11,008 acres and still 0%
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Associated Press BOISE, Idaho (AP) — William Howard went to the north-central Idaho town of Juliaetta on Thursday to help a friend after a lightning-sparked wildfire began tearing through the friend’s property, using barrels of water in an effort to extinguish “hot spots” on the land. But in the 15 minutes it took to refill
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One of Oregon’s largest wildfires of recent weeks, the nearly 2-week-old Lone Rock Fire, recently reached “mega-fire” status, meaning it’s burned more than 100,000 acres of land.
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Two Bend residents face first-degree arson and other charges, one accused of smashing an ex-roommate’s car window with a baseball bat while she was sleeping inside, pouring a flammable liquid on it and setting it ablaze, police said Thursday.
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Associated Press A burning car pushed into a gully sparked California’s largest wildfire of the year, authorities said Thursday as they announced the arrest of a suspect. Meanwhile other blazes scorched the Pacific Northwest. Flames from the fire the man is accused of starting exploded into what is now the Park Fire, which has burned
Continue Reading Associated Press BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Powerful winds and hundreds of lightning strikes from thunderstorms rattled eastern Oregon and Idaho Wednesday afternoon, cutting power and stoking fires, including one in Oregon that is already the largest active blaze in the nation. The Durkee Fire, burning near the Oregon-Idaho border about 130 miles (209 kilometers) west
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BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) – A new street mural by Bend artist Evan Namkung now greets visitors to the Old Mill District from a unique perspective. Located on the steps between Francesca’s and Ben & Jerry’s in the district, just behind Regal Cinemas, you can see the mural when looking back at the stairway from below,
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Central Oregon firefighters continued in Wednesday’s hot, windy conditions to battle several large fast-moving fires burning around the region among the many being fought across the state.
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Firefighters quickly put out a small brush fire along the Deschutes River Trail downstream from Bend’s First Street Rapids Wednesday afternoon. Officials said it was considered human-caused, but no specific cause was found. A park user told NewsChannel 21 it happened in an area where some homeless campers had previously been given 24 hours notice to leave.
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CONDON, Ore. (KTVZ) — Here’s Wednesday’s official updates on several of the large fires burning across Oregon: Governor Kotek Invokes the Emergency Conflagration Act for Durkee and Battle Mountain Complex Fires Durkee and Battle Mountain Complex Fires burning in Baker, Malheur, Grant, Umatilla Counties Canyonville, OR — Governor Tina Kotek invoked the Emergency Conflagration Act
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