Wildfire

Severe lightning storms Monday night sparked 72 wildfires of varying sizes across Jackson and Josephine counties in southern Oregon on Tuesday.

The National Weather Service has issued a heat advisory for the Lower Columbia Basin of Oregon and Washington including parts of the Blue Mountains and Yakima Valley. Temperatures are forecasted to reach 105 degrees Fahrenheit Tuesday — nearly 12 degrees warmer than average.

Level 3 (Go Now!) evacuation orders have been downgraded near a wildfire in Umatilla County.

Oregon officials are urging residents to take extra precautions this week amid high heat and dry conditions. Numerous brush fires have already scorched multiple acres across the state.

The measure, House Bill 3940, would tax oral nicotine products and tap the interest on Oregon’s rainy day savings account and put the money toward wildfire mitigation.

Last week, the fire destroyed 56 homes in the unincorporated community of Rowena, outside The Dalles. There’s a long road ahead as it recovers from the blaze.

The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office issued evacuation orders Wednesday after a fast-growing wildfire broke out in Southern Oregon.

Nearly 4,000 people have been told to evacuate or prepare for evacuation in Deschutes and Jefferson counties. The fire jumped the Deschutes River Monday evening.

The Rowena and Ferry fires in Oregon grew less over the weekend than in the days immediately after they started. The Rowena Fire has destroyed at least 56 homes, and 300 people are still under Level 3 evacuation orders.

The Rowena Fire has grown to more than 3,800 acres near The Dalles and left 8,000 residents under evacuation orders. About 50 miles to the southeast, the Ferry Fire in Sherman County was at about 9,000 acres Friday morning, prompting closure of the John Day River at Cottonwood Canyon State Park.