Crews making big progress on Cow Valley Fire, 77% contained, but Durkee Fire spreading quickly, nearly 25,000 acres
(Update: Saturday morning updates)
IRONSIDE, Ore. (KTVZ) – The over 133,000-acre Cow Valley Fire is now 77% contained, as many crews move to the newer Durkee Fire that spread quickly Friday and is now close to 25,000 acres in size, officials said Saturday.
Daily Update, July 20, 2024: #DurkeeFire and #CowValleyFire Daily Update:
(𝘗𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘋𝘶𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘦 𝘍𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘱 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘰𝘧 1:34 𝘢𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨.)
DURKEE FIRE:
Start date: July 17, 2024
Location: 5 miles southwest of Durkee, OR
Fire size: 24,269 acres | Containment: 0% | Personnel: 191*
Cause: Lightning
Yesterday, the Durkee Fire was extremely active progressing south/southeast past Huntington Road and paralleling a ridgeline adjacent to HWY 26. Southern progression of the advancing fire front reached east of Brogan. To the north, the fire crossed Burnt River. Fourteen aircraft dropped retardant and water to reinforce the efforts of firefighters on the ground. Overnight, 20-25 mph winds with gusts reaching 45 mph combined with cured grasses and other dry fuels to drive fire growth. Grasslands containing juniper saw six-foot flame lengths.
Today, given conditions associated with extreme fire behavior, fire fighters will continue to engage and make progress were and when it is safe to do so. Today, structure protection is a top priority. Resources, including Oregon State Fire Marshal have been dispatched to aid with structure preparations. Ariel tactics will continue, especially in areas that are not safe for ground support.
The Durkee Fire is burning in complex terrain with fuels comprised of juniper and sage. Fire behavior in this fuel type is characterized as spreading quickly. With increasing temperatures forecasted, 20-25 mph winds continuing through the day and compounding cumulative drying conditions below seasonal averages, the fire is likely to continue active progressing.
COW VALLEY FIRE:
Start date: July 11, 2024
Location: 9 miles east of Ironside, OR
Fire size: 133,490 acres | Containment: 77% | Personnel: 303
Cause: Human caused
Firefighters working on the Cow Valley are patrolling to find any pockets of heat to extinguish. No fire spread is expected, and fire behavior is characterized as smoldering.
BONITA FIRE:
Start date: July 11, 2024
Location: 9 miles south east of Ironside, OR
Fire size: 2,727 acres | Containment: 90% | Personnel: 0
Cause: Human caused
Minimal fire behavior has been observed due to suppression efforts, containment features and fuel consumption.
𝘕𝘌𝘞𝘚 𝘙𝘌𝘓𝘌𝘈𝘚𝘌 𝘍𝘙𝘖𝘔 𝘖𝘜𝘙 𝘗𝘈𝘙𝘛𝘕𝘌𝘙𝘚
𝘖𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘰𝘯/𝘞𝘢𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘰𝘯 𝘉𝘓𝘔 𝘝𝘢𝘭𝘦 𝘋𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘵 𝘔𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘢
𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘵: 𝘓𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘢 𝘉𝘰𝘨𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘶𝘴, 541-523-1407
𝘑𝘶𝘭𝘺 18, 2024
𝘙𝘦𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘔𝘢𝘭𝘩𝘦𝘶𝘳 𝘙𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘳 𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘢 𝘝𝘈𝘓𝘌, 𝘖𝘳𝘦. – 𝘍𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘢𝘸 𝘦𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘤’𝘴 𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘰𝘸 𝘝𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺, 𝘉𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘢 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘔𝘢𝘭𝘩𝘦𝘶𝘳 𝘙𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘳 𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘢. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘺 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘑𝘶𝘭𝘺 11, 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘹𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 1 𝘢𝘯𝘥 5 𝘢.𝘮. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘴𝘶𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦. 𝘈 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘶𝘢𝘭(𝘴) 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦. 𝘈𝘯𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘞𝘦 𝘛𝘪𝘱 𝘈𝘯𝘰𝘯𝘺𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘢𝘵 1-800-47-𝘈𝘙𝘚𝘖𝘕 𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘱.𝘤𝘰𝘮. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘮𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘪-𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘺 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘶 𝘰𝘧 𝘓𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘔𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘝𝘢𝘭𝘦 𝘋𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘵, 𝘖𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘰𝘯 𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘍𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭, 𝘔𝘢𝘭𝘩𝘦𝘶𝘳 𝘊𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘺 𝘚𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘧𝘧’𝘴 𝘖𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘖𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘰𝘯 𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘗𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘦
WEATHER AND SMOKE: It will be hot and dry today with temperatures ranging in the 100s and low humidities. Winds will be north, 20-25 mph. The inversion will lift over the Durkee fire this morning that will cause gusts to reach up to 30 MPH this afternoon. For current smoke information and air quality index, visit airnow.gov.
EVACUATIONS AND CLOSURES:
The Malheur County Sheriff’s has issued evacuations for the area around Durkee Fire. check for updates on the Malheur County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100069245917855
The Baker County Sheriff’s Office has issued evacuations for the area around Durkee Fire. Visit the Baker County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page for more information: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064434892363
Baker County Sheriff's Office has closed Burnt River Canyon Road to non-local, non-emergency traffic due to the Durkee Fire.
BURN BAN: A burn ban is currently in effect for all of Malheur County, including all BLM lands. For more information, visit https://www.malheurco.org/category/public-notices/.
TEMPORARY FLIGHT RESTRICTION: There is a temporary flight restriction over the Durkee Fire, please remember if you fly we cant.
Cow Valley Fire Incident Website: https://inciweb.wildfire.gov/incide.../orvad-cow-valley-fire
Durkee Fire Incident Website: https://inciweb.wildfire.gov/incident.../orvad-durkee-fire
Durkee, Cow Valley, and Bonita Fires Information Phone Number: 541-208-4371, staffed 7AM to 7PM PDT
Durkee, Cow Valley, and Bonita Fires Information Email: 2024.cowvalley@firenet.gov
*Most of the resources currently assigned to the Cow Valley Fire are in fact aiding in fighting the Durkee Fire. Their formal assignments are in the process of being transferred from Cow Valley to Durkee; this is why so many people still appear to be working on the Cow Valley Fire.
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Earlier info:
Here's the full announcement from the BLM Vale District:
Reward offered for information relating to wildfires in Malheur Reservoir area
Fire investigators and law enforcement officials are requesting the public’s assistance in the investigation of the Cow Valley, Bonita and other small wildfires in the Malheur Reservoir area.
These fires all began in the early morning hours of July 11, between approximately 1 and 5 a.m. They are believed to be human caused and of a suspicious nature. A monetary reward is being offered for information leading to the identification of individual(s) responsible.
Anyone with information about any of these incidents should call We Tip Anonymous at 1-800-47-ARSON, online at wetip.com or at the QR code shown.
This is a multi-agency investigation by the Bureau of Land Management Vale District, Oregon State Fire Marshal, Malheur County Sheriff’s Office, and Oregon State Police.
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Governor Kotek invokes Emergency Conflagration Act in response to Cow Valley Fire
Cow Valley Fire burning in Malheur County, northwest of Vale
Salem, OR — Governor Tina Kotek invoked the Emergency Conflagration Act on the morning of July 12, 2024, in response to a wildfire in Malheur County: the Cow Valley Fire. The resources necessary for protecting life and property from the Cow Valley Fire are beyond local capabilities. Assistance with life, safety, and structural fire protection was requested by the Malheur County Fire Defense Board and the state fire marshal concurred with that request.
“Wildfire season is in full swing, with fires active across Oregon and concerning weather conditions for this upcoming weekend,” Governor Kotek said. “I am authorizing an emergency conflagration to allow additional resources to fight the Cow Valley Fire in Malheur County. The majority of our state’s wildfires are human-caused. I urge all Oregonians to take extreme precautions, particularly with lightning in the forecast for this weekend. It is incumbent on all of us to keep Oregon green and protect our communities.”
A link to Executive Order 24-12 can be found here.
Following ORS 476.510-476.610, Governor Kotek determined that a threat to life, safety, and property exists due to the fire, and the threat exceeds the firefighting capabilities of local firefighting personnel and equipment. The governor’s declaration cleared the way for the state fire marshal to mobilize resources through the Oregon Fire Mutual Aid System to support local fire service agencies on scene. This conflagration is declared only for the Cow Valley Fire threatening structures in Malheur County.
The Oregon State Fire Marshal’s Red Incident Management Team was mobilized. Along with the federal partners, our rangeland fire protective associations and local responding agencies, two structural task forces were mobilized Thursday night through the agency’s Immediate Response tool. Two more task forces from Lane and Marion counties were mobilized. The Red Incident Management Team will be in unified command with Northwest Team 6, a federal complex incident management team.
For the latest on evacuations, please follow the Malheur County Sheriff’s Office.
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Here's the Friday morning release on the fire by the Oregon State Fire Marshal's Office:
Cow Valley Fire in Malheur County declared a conflagration, OSFM sending additional resources
Oregon State Fire Marshal - 07/12/24 10:12 AM
SALEM, Ore. (KTVZ) – The Oregon State Fire Marshal is mobilizing several task forces and its Red Incident Management Team to the Cow Valley Fire in Malheur County to protect people and property. Overnight Thursday, the agency sent two task forces from Umatilla and Multnomah counties through Immediate Response. These task forces will be joined by two others from Lane and Marion counties.
“The weather conditions we are seeing across Oregon are extremely concerning. The forecast over the weekend for much of Eastern Oregon will not be doing us any favors,” Oregon State Fire Marshal Mariana Ruiz-Temple said. “The state has seen numerous human-caused wildfires over the last few weeks, and I am asking everyone to be careful and aware of the extreme fire conditions, especially with lightning in the forecast.”
According to the Vale Bureau of Land Management District, the fire is being pushed by gusty winds, triple-digit temperatures, and low humidity, causing substantial fire growth in the last 12 hours. An infrared flight is happening this morning to get an accurate size of the fire. That information will be shared once it is available. Weather for this fire is expected to be challenging over the next few days with a Fire Weather Watch in place by the National Weather Service for abundant lightning and wind this weekend.
The OSFM’s Red Incident Management Team will be in unified command with Northwest Team 6, a federal complex incident management team.
Malheur County Emergency Management and the Red Cross have a shelter in Girvin Hall at the Malheur County Fairgrounds. Those who have questions about the shelter should call 208-519-6675.
Evacuation notices will be issued by the Malheur County Sheriff’s Office. A Facebook page is set up to share Cow Valley Fire information.
On Friday morning, Oregon Governor Tina Kotek invoked the Emergency Conflagration Act for the fire which allows the state fire marshal to mobilize state resources to protect life and property.
Following ORS 476.510-476.610, Governor Kotek determined that threats to life, safety, and property exist because of the fire, and the threats exceed the capabilities of local firefighting personnel and equipment.
ODOT shared photos on TripCheck of the Cow Valley Fire on its TripCheck page and said the highway was expected to remain closed through the night. Crews will assess the situation and provide an update in the morning.
KTVB in Boise reported 30-50 homes in Brogan are threatened, and power needed to be shut off to some due to the fire’s proximity to power lines.
The Malheur County Sheriff’s Office said on Facebook the Cow Valley Fire had changed direction and was growing quickly to the east, toward the town of Brogan, population of about 90. It was burning on both sides of the highway.
It was one of three large new blazes in the area, according to Watch Duty, the others being the day-old, 4,504-acre Huntington Mutual Aid Fire in Baker County, prompting evacuations and alerts in the Huntington area and Farewell Bend State Park, and the 1,867-acre Bonita Road Fire, also in Malheur County, reported early Thursday morning.
