Red flag warnings issued in Central and Eastern Oregon for Saturday

Red flag warnings will cover nearly all of Oregon and Washington east of the Cascades starting Saturday. As officials continue to update the public, fire crews have worked all week to mitigate the impact of the dangerous fire weather expected this weekend.

4:30 p.m: Oregon issues emergency order to pause insurance cancellation due to wildfires

A Wildfire Emergency Order has been issued to temporarily prohibit insurance carriers from canceling or nonrenewing homeowners insurance for people affected by the state’s wildfires.

The Oregon Division of Financial Regulation issued the order Friday requiring all property and casualty insurance companies to take proactive measures to protect people across Oregon living in areas dealing with wildfires.

The order follows a state of emergency declared by Gov. Tina Kotek on June 16 due to the 30 large fires burning throughout the state. Last week, the governor visited the Akawa Butte Fire and met with fire response teams and community members in Sisters, Oregon.

“I could not be more proud of the way Oregon communities are supporting each other during this time, but the last thing anyone needs to worry about in this moment is losing their homeowners insurance,” Kotek said.

The emergency order includes other temporary protections such as extending all deadlines for policyholders to report claims. It also establishes a grace period for premium payments for all insurance policies issued, delivered or covering a risk in an affected area.

“We issued this order to make sure evacuees and other Oregonians affected by these wildfires are able to access the insurance resources they need, especially while they are displaced,” Oregon Insurance Commissioner TK Keen said. “We appreciate all the work our state’s insurance representatives are doing to help their customers right now, and we encourage everyone to be patient and work together throughout the recovery process.”

Homeowners are encouraged to contact their insurance company to discuss next steps if their property was damaged by the state’s wildfires.

3:30 p.m: Officials with Bench Fire hopeful this weekend will be different

While weather conditions have community members on high alert, officials in the Warm Springs and Madras areas are a bit more optimistic things won’t get as bad as last weekend.

Last Saturday, the Bench Fire, burning west of Madras, spread rapidly across town merging with the nearby Beachcomb Fire. The two fires, now known as the Bench Fire, destroyed six homes and five structures. It also prompted local authorities to issue multiple evacuation notices.

Officials, who spoke at a community meeting for members of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs Thursday night, are hoping things will be different over the next few days.

Jim King is a fire behavior analyst for the Bench Fire. He said with the work completed over the last week by the more than 800 wildland firefighters, they feel they’re in a very different place now.

“Even with strong west winds through the weekend, the community of Warm Springs, the 26 corridor, the Deschutes corridor, with all the hard work that’s gone in, those’ll be still in a really good position in spite of the red flag conditions,” King said.

Officials said the night shifts will continue around the clock until the fire is fully contained and secured around all structures. The Bench Fire has burned more than 66,000 acres and is 32% contained as of Friday afternoon.

2:30 p.m: Red flag warnings issued in areas already burning

The National Weather Service has now issued red flag warnings for most of Oregon and Washington east of the Cascades.

“This is a particularly dangerous situation as extreme fire weather concerns will be present,” the warning reads. “Any fire that develops will catch and spread quickly.”

Wind gusts could reach 40 mph in some areas, and humidity will drop to as low as 15%. These warnings include most of the areas where the largest fires are burning in Oregon.

Crews at the Bench Fire near the Warm Springs Reservation reported Friday afternoon they had made progress containing the blaze over the last couple of days, but now they’re looking ahead to the dangerous weekend weather.

“Thanks to the coordinated work of tribal, local, state and federal partners, the threat to structures in the Warm Springs area has decreased significantly, allowing evacuation levels in many areas to be lowered and residents to begin returning home,” reads the latest Bench Fire update.

As the dry and windy weather approaches, crews are focused on strengthening the eastern edge of the fire, toward the city of Madras.

“Crews will continue mopping up along the eastern edge of the fire where fire crossed over U.S. Route 26 while improving hand line established in rough terrain,” the update reads. “Firefighters will continue to strengthen existing containment lines in advance of this weekend’s weather forecast and establish contingency containment lines south of Lake Billy Chinook.”

Officials urge people living in areas under evacuation orders to keep an eye on the forecast this weekend. Outdoor burning is not recommended.

An air quality advisory is also in effect until at least Monday afternoon for parts of Central and Eastern Oregon. The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality issued the advisory Friday due to smoke from multiple wildfires burning in the area. Officials urge people in sensitive groups to limit their outdoor activities as smoky conditions can cause eye and lung irritation.

12 p.m: Community meeting planned as Grasshopper Fire grows

Parts of the Mount Hood National Forest continue to be closed due to the Grasshopper Fire burning nearby.

Fire officials will share updates on the fire, evacuations and what’s planned next at a community meeting Friday at 6 p.m. The meeting is taking place at the South Wasco County High School cafeteria in Maupin, Oregon. Officials say they plan to stream the meeting on the official Grasshopper Fire information Facebook page.

Level 3 “Go Now!” evacuation orders remain in place at the southern edge of Wasco and Hood River counties. The fire has grown, pushing Level 2 “Be Set” and Level 1 “Be Ready” evacuation orders farther east into Wasco County.

Crews worked Thursday to strengthen containment lines ahead of fire weather watch warnings for the weekend. Teams from Oregon and California coordinated suppression efforts, while additional resources from Utah arrived to help protect homes.

The Grasshopper Fire has burned over 23,000 acres and is at 0% containment as of Friday afternoon.

8:30 a.m: Fire weather watch stretches into the weekend for a majority of Oregon

The National Weather Service alert for dry, hot and windy weather is in effect from Saturday morning through Saturday evening, and it now includes areas in Central and southeast Oregon where the Rowe Creek and Big Grass fires are burning more than 300,000 acres each.

“Windy conditions will develop with overlapping low relative humidity values Saturday across the Columbia Basin, Eastern Mountains, and Central Oregon,” the NWS alert reads. “Any fire that develops will catch and spread quickly. Outdoor burning is not recommended.”

The alert now includes the areas where the Akawa Butte, Bench, Coyote, Fox, Grasshopper, Hagen, Hay Creek and Second Flat fires have put nearly 5,000 people under Level 3 “Go Now!” evacuations and burned more than 400,000 acres.

Related: Statewide hotline activated for Oregon wildfires, dangerous fire weather in the days ahead

Many of the areas under the fire weather watch could see wind gusts up to 40 mph and humidity as low as 20%. People in those areas are urged to use extreme caution and stay updated on weather alerts and forecast changes.

Resources: Stay safe and informed during wildfire season with OPB’s wildfire guide at opb.org/wildfires. This resource offers essential safety tips and preparedness guidance to help you navigate fire and smoke events. This resource was created as part of our commitment to serving the public as wildfire seasons become longer and more dangerous.