NOTE: The Enterprise is making coverage of this fire information available to all because of the emergency circumstances.
UPDATE 8 a.m. Tuesday, July 23: TripCheck shows that Interstate 84 is now open.
The Durkee Fire continued to spread late Monday as fire crews faced a half-dozen new fires north of Malheur County triggered by lightning, including one that soon had covered 3,500 acres.
“Due to the wind, temperatures and dry fuels, the Durkee Fire has been very active again today,” according to a fire update issued Monday night.
The update said the fire was actively burning to the east toward the freeway, triggering another closure of Interstate 84 from Ontario to Pendleton.
“Firefighters are planning to complete strategic burn operations from Huntington Road to Lockette to 1-84. This aims to help get ahead of where to fire is moving and protect infrastructure and communities,” the evening update said.
As of 2 p.m. Monday, July 22, the Durkee Fire was calculated at 223,872 acres – growing by 50,113 acres since Sunday. Fire officials said a burnout operation on Sunday night helped slow the fire in the Bridgeport area.
The fire “continues to receive one of the largest aerial responses in the country. Planes and helicopters have been in the air every day since the fire started. As of yesterday, aircraft have dropped at least 400,000 gallons of retardant, and helicopters have dropped at least 185,000 gallons of water. There have been days when we have had 25 aircraft,” according to an incident update from Northwest Team 6, the federal incident management team operating out of Vale that is orchestrating the fire effort.
