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Multiple Agencies Battle Fire In Warm Springs

By Ericka Cruz Guevarra (OPB)
July 3, 2018 4:17 p.m.
The Mecca fire burning near Highway 26.

The Mecca fire burning near Highway 26.

Jefferson County Sheriff's Office

Multiple agencies are battling a fire in Warm Springs that began burning Monday.

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What fire crews are calling the Mecca Fire is burning an estimated 900 acres, according to Trey Leonard, fire management officer at Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs.

Officers with the tribe's public safety division went door-to-door to issue mandatory evacuation orders to at least 40 homes Monday in the Greeley Heights Subdivision of the reservation.

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No historic sites or cultural landmarks are currently threatened by the fire.

Highway 26, which was closed due to burning trees on both sides of the highway, re-opened late Monday, according to the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office.

The U.S. Forest Service, the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, the Bureau of Land Management and the Bureau of Indian Affairs are involved in the response.

A Type 3 incident management team, four hot shot crews, two strike teams and two hand crews are fighting the fire. Firefighters will also work the fire from the air Tuesday.

The fire’s cause remains under investigation.

This story will be updated.

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