Warm Springs fire tops 19,000 acres; Hwy. 26 shut, evacuations

A string of wildfires sparked by a passing RV’s trailer on Highway 26 on the Warm Springs Indian Reservation merged into one blaze that nearly quadrupled in size to 19,000 acres Thursday, surging in hot winds and prompting a renewed closure of the highway.

The County Line 2 Fire, last reported at 19,163 acres, has burned one double-wide mobile home and two abandoned structures since the vehicle ignited the blazes a day ago, officials said. It was estimated at just 5,000 acres in size late Wednesday.

By late Thursday afternoon, residents of the Sunnyside subdivision were being evacuated under a Level 3 order, while the Wolfe Point subdivision was under a Level 2 alert, meaning be ready to leave quickly. The Kah-Nee-Ta Resort, threatened by wildfires time and again over the years, was on standby in case the fire moves closer.

Officials said they’d confirmed the fires were sparked around 1:30 p.m. Wednesday by sparks from the tire rim of a utility trailer being towed by an RV heading south on Highway 26.

About 24 hours after the fires began, ODOT again closed a 32-mile stretch of the highway It said the eastbound detour is at milepost 71, the intersection with Oregon Highway 216 to Maupin and then south on U.S. Highway 197.

The new westbound detour tentatively was established at milepost 103, the Deschutes River Crossing. But it later was re-established on the reservation, using local highways 3 and 9 (toward Kah-Nee-Ta Resort), returning to Highway west to the north (west).

A 45-mile stretch of the highway had reopened just before midnight after the fire conditions eased.

Indeed, officials said the fire’s growth slowed overnight but it flared up again around noon — and there was no estimate of any containment. At least 230 personnel were on the fire lines, with more being called in.

A Level 1 (“GET READY”) pre-evacuation notice was in place for several threatened communities on the reservation Thursday, a lower level of alert than the Level 2 (“GET SET”) evacuation alert that was issued Wednesday night.

Structural protection was underway Thursday on a house east of Highway 26, prepping for burnout operations if it gets too close.

A Type 2 management team was due to assume a unified command at 5 p.m. with the State Fire Marshal’s Office.

Warm Springs fire spokesman Clay Penhollow said late Wednesday a double-wide home was lost at Shitike Creek after the seven to nine fires were reported on both sides of a 6-8 mile stretch of the highway around 1:15 p.m. Wednesday.

By nightfall, he said the fires had burned down to the highway on both sides and that residents of the Miller Heights neighborhood had been evacuated under a Level 3 (“GO NOW”) evacuation order.

The tribes later reported on their Facebook page that a Level 2 (“GET SET”) evacuation order for areas including Campus, Shitike Creek, Miller Heights, Upper Dry Creek and Sunnyside.

Sparks from the trailer where a wheel or axle broke ignited seven to nine fires over a roughly six- to eight-mile stretch of both sides of the highway.

As of 9 p.m., and again on Thursday, the Highway 26 closure was from milepost 71 on the west (the intersection with Oregon Highway 216, the Wapanita Highway) and milepost 117.5 on the east (the intersection of Highways 26 and 97 at Madras).

Roadblocks were diverting motorists onto Highways 216 through Maupin and onto U.S. Highway 197 for a lengthy detour.

The Upper Dry Creek area of the reservation was placed under a Level 1 pre-evacuation notice, which urges residents to get ready to leave should a fire move closer, he said.

The American Red Cross set up a shelter at the Warm Springs Community Center for families in the affected area, the Confederate Tribes of the Warm Springs said on their Facebook page.

Eight to 10 engine crews were battling the blazes, assisted by a SEAT (Single Engine Air Tanker) plane and helicopter, with more resources being called in.

On Wednesday afternoon, ODOT had closed a 15-mile stretch of the highway, with eastbound traffic diverted at milepost 89 and westbound at milepost 104.5, using Simnasho and Kah-Nee-Ta roads on the reservation.

Check the latest on road closures — and a view from a Webcam on the closed stretch of Highway 26 near Warm Springs – at http://www.ktvz.com/trip-check