Crews fighting the Durkee Fire and several other blazes burning in and around Malheur County held fire lines as thunderstorms passed over the region in recent days.
Ninety percent of the Durkee Fire, once the largest fire in the U.S., was considered contained as of Tuesday, Aug. 6. This means a protective line is in place, and there is little chance for the fire to move beyond it.
The lightning-caused fire had burned 294,265 acres west of Durkee and into Malheur County.
Ray Butler, public information officer with the Southern Area Gold Team incident command, said on Monday, Aug. 5, that local agencies would assume fire command by Friday, Aug. 9. The Southern Area Gold Team has operated out of Cairo Elementary School in Ontario.
Despite the fire remaining active on the northern flank, Butler said crews are working on finishing and securing the fire lines.
The National Weather Service forecast for the next five days shows hot, dry conditions but no thunderstorms.
Butler said some crews were being reassigned to other fires burning across the West.
Butler said crews are also repairing the original fire lines created as a way to lessen or eliminate erosion.
“The idea is you weren’t you want to leave it where it doesn’t erode,” he said.
Disaster declarations were made at the county and state levels, and as of Monday, Aug. 5, officials are awaiting federal action.
The Oregon Congressional delegation is seeking federal help for communities, ranchers, and farmers affected by recent wildfires.
In a letter sent Aug. 1 to U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, the congressional delegation members asked him to endorse Gov. Tina Kotek’s disaster declaration for counties impacted by wildfires.
The federal legislators also wrote to support Kotek’s requests for the U.S. Department of Agriculture to release more federal resources for agriculture communities suffering from wildfires across the state.
The Durkee Fire followed the Cow Valley Fire, which erupted on July 11 and burned more than 200 square miles of grazing range north of Vale.
Meantime, the Badlands Complex Fire, a collection of fires east of Interstate 84 between Crandall Creek and Richland in Baker County, continued to burn on 54,563 acres, according to a Monday, Aug. 5 press release. The press release noted the blaze is nearly fully contained.
The two largest fires in that complex are the Thompson and Coyote Fires, located along the Snake River south of the Powder River tributary into Brownlee Reservoir. The Thompson Fire is holding at 31,557 acres and nearly contained, according to the press release. Meantime, the Coyote Fire is contained.