Unattended campfires at homeless camps have kept firefighters busy this fire season. In just one day, Bend firefighters responded to and put out two such fires. Last week, a La Pine homeless man was arrested for leaving a burn pit unattended.
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Crews worked through the night to stop or slow the Microwave Tower fire near the Columbia Gorge town of Mosier, taking advantage of the cooler temperatures and higher humidity to make progress.
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Associated Press BELLINGHAM, Wash. (AP) — Firefighters in the West are scrambling as wildfires threaten communities in Oregon, California and Washington, with at least one Oregon fire so large that it is creating its own weather. Interstate 84 in eastern Oregon was closed in both directions Tuesday between Ontario and Baker City as flames from
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Thunderstorms moving across Central Oregon Sunday brought lightning that sparked more than 25 fire starts around the region that firefighters were busy responding to Monday, many stopped small but one that quickly grew to about 3,000 acres northeast of Paulina and prompted evacuations and road closures.
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Firefighters continued Sunday to hold the 180-acre Jackpine Fire south of La Pine within its perimeter and brought the blaze to 25% containment. Meanwhile, crews also made good progress on the Wickiup and Round Mountain fires near Wickiup Reservoir.
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WARM SPRINGS, Ore. (KTVZ) – A brush fire Monday afternoon behind the old Warm Springs Mill and Warm Springs Composites was fanned by high winds and burned about 200 acres before it was contained by Warm Springs and other firefighting agencies. Warm Springs Fire and Safety was dispatched shortly after 3 p.m. to the reported
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BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) – While wildland firefighters work to stop new and older blazes in rural areas that have grown to hundreds or thousands of acres, Bend Fire & Rescue moved fast Monday afternoon to stop two smoldering fires at small sizes on the west and east sides of town. Firefighters responded just before 4
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(Update: Eastbound closure extends west to La Grande freeway to shut overnight for 3-5 nights) BAKER CITY, Ore. (KTVZ) — The nearly 174,000-acre Durkee Fire in Eastern Oregon prompted closure Monday evening of a 100-mile stretch of Interstate 84 between Baker City and Ontario, ODOT said. An even longer-distance closure, to Pendleton, is planned overnight
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The Crook County Sheriff’s Office on Monday morning reduced the evacuation notice to Level 1 BE READY for a wildfire fanned by heat and wind that broke out Saturday afternoon near McKay Creek Road, about six miles north of Prineville, burning over 200 acres and brought by 100 firefighters to 30% containment.
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DUFUR, Ore. (KGW/KTVZ) — Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek and her wife, Aimee Kotek Wilson, arrived in Tygh Valley on Sunday. The two women stood at a viewpoint on the side of the road, surveying the damage from the Larch Creek Fire, KGW reported. “You just have no sense until you’re out here and seeing it,” Kotek
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MONUMENT, Ore. (KTVZ) – The 4-day-old lightning-sparked Boneyard fire about 10 miles north of Monument has grown to nearly 15,000 acres, destroying a home and two outbuildings while prompting evacuations ahead of Sunday’s red flag warning and threat of more lightning. https://inciweb.wildfire.gov/incident-information/or95s-boneyard-fire https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61563332514107 Here’s Sunday evening’s update on the fire: MONUMENT, Ore. – The Oregon
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SPRAGUE RIVER, Ore. (KTVZ) – A new wind-driven wildfire was reported Sunday afternoon about three miles northeast of the Klamath County town of Sprague River and had grown to an estimated 1,200 acres late in the day, threatening homes and prompting an evacuation. About 20 to 30 structures were threatened by the Knot Fire, reported
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More than 1,600 firefighting personnel working to stop the 11-day-old, nearly 121,000-acre Falls Fire on the Malheur National Forest have been helped the past three days by heavy smoke from other blazes in the region, reducing wind and temperatures on the lines.
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While crews brought the 10-day-old 133,000-acre Cow Valley Fire to 78% containment, Gov. Tina Kotek invoked the Emergency Conflagration Act to send more state resources to the 4-day-old Durkee Fire in Baker County, which exploded to over 143,000 acres by Sunday evening.
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SPRINGFIELD, Ore. (KTVZ) — Before Sunday’s thunderstorms moved through Oregon, last week’s lightning sparked nearly two-dozen blazes on the Willamette National Forest, including the Pyramid and Ore fires that by Sunday had each burned over 500 acres in rugged terrain. Here’s a forest overview Sunday and details of the two blazes: Willamette National ForestFire Update
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The more than week-old Lone Rock Lone Rock Fire 10 miles southeast of Condon continues to grow quickly, to over 116,000 acres by Sunday, while containment by over 800 firefighters has risen to 40%, but authorities say while “a lot” of homes have been saved, some have been lost to the large blaze.
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A pair of 3-day-old wildfires north of Wickiup Reservoir and on Round Mountain were still held to about 250 acres total Saturday as crews made more progress and brought the Wickiup Fire to 20% containment and Round Mountain to 5% containment, officials said.
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DUFUR, Ore. (KTVZ) — As new fires break out across Oregon, ones that began several days ago near full containment, including the more than 18,000-acre Larch Creek Fire in Wasco County, now 81% contained, at a cost so far of $15.6 million. Here’s the Saturday update, the last from the Oregon Department of Forestry Incident
Continue ReadingSPRINGFIELD, Ore. (KTVZ) — Fire suppression efforts continue on the Ore Fire, which is burning in steep, rugged terrain 7 miles northeast of Blue River, officials said Saturday. The current acreage of 500 is an estimate due to the unavailability of an updated infrared flight. Here’s the rest of the Saturday morning update on the
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BEND, Ore. (KTVZ)– Satellite images east of Redmond show hundreds of acres of garbage left by those living on federal land, a growing problem that has local officials speaking out about the potential dangers, especially during wildfire season. “The risk is intense. The risk is real. There is a very serious public safety threat,” Deschutes
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