VALE – The Durkee Fire was 51% contained as of Tuesday, July 30, with nearly 500 firefighters still deployed to the blaze that has scorched over 290,000 acres since it was ignited by lightning more than two weeks ago.
Contained means a protective line is in place with little chance for the fire to move beyond it.
A change in weather conditions allowed firefighters to make progress on the blaze, but triple-digit temperatures are again forecast on Thursday, Aug. 1, potentially creating new challenges for firefighters.
Fire officials battling the Durkee Fire breathed a sigh of relief Thursday, July 25, after a storm that delivered nearly 3,000 lightning strikes and wind gusts that topped out at 75 mph dumped a quarter-inch of rain on what was the country’s largest wildfire. The Park Fire in California claimed that distinction this week, spanning over 383,000 acres as of Tuesday, July 30.
Yet behind the storm, dry, windy conditions punctuated by lightning returned and conspired to ignite other fires, including the Hole in the Ground Fire northwest of Jordan Valley.
As of Tuesday, July 30, the Hole in the Ground Fire had burned 98,977 acres 22 miles northwest of Jordan Valley. According to Larisa Bogardus, a public information specialist with the Vale District Bureau of Land Management, part of the fire’s increase in acreage is due to a 6-mile-long strategic burning operation along the south and southwest edges of the fire a few days ago.
Last week, the blaze prompted the Malheur County Sheriff’s Office to issue a “Get set” evacuation order for residents on Danner Loop Road.
Bogardus said the blaze last week threatened homes, outbuildings, ranches, and the historic Birch Creek Ranch. While she does not have a percentage for containment, she said the BLM expects crews will have the fire contained by the end of the day on Wednesday, July 31.
The lightning-caused Durkee Fire, still one of the largest in Oregon, is next to the Cow Valley Fire footprint. The Cow Valley Fire erupted on July 11 and burned more than 200 square miles of grazing range north of Vale. The perimeter of the Durkee Fire is nearly 170 miles—the distance from Vale to Umatilla.
Meanwhile, the area remains in a “fuels and fire behavior advisory,” meaning that fuels, tree shrubs and tall grass are extremely dry and combustible.
The Durkee Fire ignited on July 17 on Bureau of Land Management land, not far outside the town of Durkee. The blaze has been dubbed a “mega” fire—a classification for wildfires of 100,000 acres or more.
In the span of a week, the Durkee Fire barged across the countryside, swelling to 288,690 acres as of Friday, July 26, spreading south and north and then boiling to the northwest. So far, two structures have been reported destroyed.
The Durkee Fire follows the Cow Valley Fire, which erupted on July 11 and burned more than 200 square miles of grazing range north of Vale.
Also, the Badlands Complex Fire, a collection of fires triggered by lightning east of Interstate 84 on Monday, July 22, burns between Crandall Creek and Richland in Baker County.
By Tuesday, July 30, the Badland Complex Fire had grown to nearly 55,000 acres and was 49% contained.
The Bureau of Land Management and the Malheur County Sheriff’s Office seek help from the public after finding arson a possible cause in the Cow Valley and Bonita Fires and “other small wildfires in the Malheur Reservoir area.”
Anyone with information about any of the fires can call We Tip Anonymous at 1-800-47-ARSON or visit wetip.com.
As crews battle the area’s mega fires, federal resources are nearly tapped, said Maribeth Pecotte, the public information officer with the Rocky Mountain Incident Management Team. However, she said Rangeland Fire Protection Associations, local volunteer firefighters from Vale, Burnt River and other areas have been key in picking up the slack.
The volunteer firefighters, residents in the rural communities, had been on the blazes for up to 12 days straight, Pecotte said.
“We’d be in a spot without them,” she said.
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