Residents of more than 200 Wasco County homes have been ordered to evacuate from the path of the growing White River fire, and another 1,500 households have been told to get ready in case the conflagration grows and spreads eastward.
Though mostly rural areas and farmlands have been affected so far, the western edge of the fire is now within seven miles of the community of Tygh Valley and within 14 miles of Maupin. The area is south of the Dalles and north of Madras, in Central Oregon.
The firefighting effort is receiving additional resources after Gov. Kate Brown declared the blaze an emergency conflagration on Thursday. More than 800 people have been deployed, with their base at the county fairgrounds in Tygh Valley.
“We have built a city to support and take care of our firefighters,” Incident Commander Ian Yokum said Saturday night.
Crews are hoping moderate winds and cooler temperatures will help them gain ground on a wildfire that has burned more than 14,000 acres and remains only 10% contained, according to a briefing document shared Sunday morning by incident commanders. But humidity remains slow and extreme drought has created conditions where the fire can spread quickly across grass and fields in the mostly rural area.
Flames licked right against the foundations of some structures Saturday, but no houses or other buildings were destroyed, as Oregon State Fire Marshal crews teamed with local firefighters to extinguish blazes where they could, and to guide fire away from houses when they could not put out the flames, according to the briefing document.
Yokum asked residents to drive with caution or avoid roads surrounding the fire, as crews are deploying heavy equipment in the area.
The Red Cross said it would help displaced residents access shelter through coordinators posted at Shilo Inn in The Dalles.
