INDEX, Wash. (AP) — The growth of a wildfire northeast of Seattle near Stevens Pass has slowed, allowing mandatory evacuations to be eased for the town of Index, Washington, days after the blaze sent residents and hikers scrambling to leave. Officials said Tuesday afternoon that movement of the Bolt Creek Fire had slowed in the
Continue Reading
A somewhat improved picture weather-wise made for less growth on the Cedar Creek Fire Monday, allowing reduced evacuation levels and for two of the seven task forces called in from around the country to return home, but it still grew another 6,000 acres to over 92,000 acres and is still considered 0% contained.
Continue Reading
A pickup crash into dry vegetation on U.S. Highway 26 north of Madras Monday afternoon sent the driver to the hospital and sparked a wildfire that crews stopped at about an acre.
Continue Reading
Fire crews staying and working at Mt. Bachelor have a common mission, outside of putting out the Cedar Creek Fire entirely. It’s to stop the fire from going farther east — and at the same time, to be as prepared as possible to protect lives, homes and property, in case it does.
Continue Reading
An army of firefighters from across the nation is helping battle the 6-week-old Cedar Creek Fire that exploded in weekend heat and winds to nearly 87,000 acres and forced evacuations, power outages and highway and forest closures. But cooler, calmer weather has improved conditions, officials said Monday as evacuation levels were lowered and thick smoke poured into communities east and west of the fire.
Continue ReadingBy STEFANIE DAZIO Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — Heavy rains Monday unleashed mudslides in a mountain area east of Los Angeles that burned two years ago, sending boulders and other debris across roads and prompting evacuation and shelter-in-place orders for thousands of residents. Firefighters went street by street in the community of Forest Falls
Continue Reading
Extreme fire behavior and strong winds made for another big run by the Cedar Creek Fire east of Oakridge on Saturday, putting up towering pyrocumulus smoke clouds, along with lightning, forcing continued evacuations and breaching lines, prompting a rollback to zero containment of the 6-week-old blaze.
Continue ReadingBy Nouran Salahieh, CNN Air quality alerts are in place across much of Washington, Oregon and Idaho as smoke from ongoing fires is leading to poor air quality in the aftermath of a record-breaking heat wave. There are currently 94 large, active fires burning across eight states, according to the National Interagency Fire Center: Idaho
Continue Reading
The Cedar Creek Fire has more than doubled in size, topping 74,000 acres Saturday as winds shifted to push the blaze back toward the east, putting up towering pyrocumulus clouds that peppered the area with lightning and sent smoke again blowing into the High Desert.
Continue Reading
By RACHEL LA CORTE Associated Press OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — There were 18 large fires burning in Oregon and Washington Saturday, leading to evacuations and targeted power outages in Oregon as the challenge of dry and windy conditions continued in the region. According to the Northwest Interagency Coordination Center, there are nearly 406 square miles
Continue Reading
By GILLIAN FLACCUS Associated Press PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Oregon utilities shut down power to tens of thousands of customers on Friday as dry easterly winds swept into the region in the hopes that it would lessen the risk of wildfires in extremely dry and hot conditions. Power shut-offs due to extreme fire weather, common
Continue Reading
The Oakridge and Westfir areas were evacuated Friday evening and a Highway 58 closure was lengthened 57 miles in the face of the Cedar Creek Fire as predicted windy conditions also sparked other wildfires around the Northwest that forced people to also flee their homes.
Continue Reading
Fire crews are setting up two incident command centers at Mt. Bachelor. Their locations change according to fire conditions. About 800 firefighters are expected to arrive Friday and Saturday. Heavy firefighting equipment also was moved in the area on Friday. Fire officials are going to bring in tents and RVs for crews to sleep in at Bachelor. Fire
Continue Reading
By GILLIAN FLACCUS and LISA BAUMANN Associated Press PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Forecasters warned Thursday that strong, gusting winds and low humidity will cause extreme fire danger across western Oregon and Washington this weekend as authorities encouraged residents to charge cellphones and have an evacuation plan ready. Starting Friday, a dry east wind with gusts
Continue Reading
Days of hot, windy weather have caused the Cedar Creek Fire to nearly double in size, topping 31,000 acres, officials said Thursday after fire crews wrapped Cultus Lake Lodge in aluminum wrap and widened the Level 3 evacuation to include a wide area ahead of another red flag warning.
Continue Reading
The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality and Lane Regional Air Protection Agency issued an air quality advisory Thursday for Coos, Curry, Deschutes, Douglas, Jackson, Josephine, Klamath, Lake, Lane, Umatilla, Union and Wallowa counties due to smoke from fires across Oregon and in central Idaho.
Continue Reading
SALEM, Ore. (KTVZ) – To boost capacity ahead of forecasted east winds and heightened wildfire conditions, the Oregon Office of State Fire Marshal has ordered three Washington task forces from Snohomish, King, Pierce, Kitsap, Chelan, and Clark counties through the Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC). Of the Washington task forces, one is assigned to the
Continue Reading
A new fire, the Van Meter Fire, broke out Wednesday on Stukel Mountain, southeast of Klamath Falls, and by day’s end was estimated at 800 to 1,000 acres, with evacuations under way, according to the South Central Oregon Fire Management Partnership.
Continue Reading
As firefighters tackle numerous new lightning-sparked fires around the High Desert, the growth of the Cedar Creek Fire by Waldo Lake, last reported at over 18,000 acres, prompted Deschutes County emergency managers to evacuate Crane Prairie Reservoir and other nearby areas Wednesday.
Continue Reading
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Pacific Power has issued potential shutoff notices to customers in six Oregon counties south and west of Portland because of predicted gusty east winds Friday and Saturday contributing to extreme wildfire conditions. Pacific Power said Wednesday that it has notified about 12,000 customers in Linn, Douglas, Lincoln, Tillamook, Marion and Polk
Continue Reading