PILOT ROCK — Crews overnight Thursday, July 18, worked to hold the fire lines on the wildfire south of Pilot Rock.

The Oregon State Fire Marshal’s Green Team is the management team on the fire and held a briefing at 6 a.m. July 18 and estimated the size of the fire to be approximately 20,000 acres, according to an update from the Umatilla County Sheriff’s Office.

That’s 10,000 acres less than an initial estimate in the middle of the night.

Richard Cearns, deputy chief of strategic services for Umatilla County Fire District No. 1, said early July 18 that 26 local firefighters were working in three divisions to attack the blaze.

The sheriff’s office reported more positive news about the blaze as well.

Firefighters have contained the blaze along Yellow Jacket Road Road and Highway 395 South, with crews still monitoring.

Fire crews will be concentrating heavily on the west and south end of the fire along Bear Creek Road and to the west on Gurdane Road, the sheriff’s office reported.

But management team also stressed a “consistent message throughout the briefing was to remain flexible and fluid, as the dry conditions and increasing temperatures are extremely challenging and additional fires are expected,” according to the sheriff’s office.

Significant lightning storms moved through Umatilla County during the afternoon of July 17 and kept local fire agencies busy responding to wildfires. Gusty winds and dry conditions caused some of these fires to grow exponentially and threaten life and property.

Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek late July 17 invoked the Emergency Conflagration Act for the fires near Pilot Rock, according to an announcement from the Oregon State Fire Marshal.

In addition to the Green Incident Management Team, the OSFM mobilized three structural task forces from Benton, Marion, and Polk counties. One of those task forces was sent earlier in the afternoon July 17 along with a helicopter.

The Emergency Conflagration Act allows the state fire marshal to mobilize state resources to protect life and property. Kotek determined that threats to life, safety and property exist because of the fire, and the threats exceed the capabilities of local firefighting personnel and equipment.

The sheriff’s office reported “go now” evacuation level remains in effect for the area south of Coombes Canyon Road and north of Carney Butte between the county line on the west and just west of East Birch Creek.

For the latest information on the fire and evacuation status, go to the sheriff’s office’s Facebook page.

The city opened its community center to anyone needing shelter, but staff at the center said no one needed the aid, but some 60 non-local firefighters would use the facility instead.

“The conditions our firefighters are up against are extraordinarily challenging, and we are working to provide the needed resources to protect our communities from many wildfires burning across the state,” Oregon State Fire Marshal Mariana Ruiz-Temple said in a press release. “I can’t stress enough the importance of preventing any new fires and being prepared in case you need to evacuate.”

Shelters are set up at the Pendleton Convention Center, 1601 Westgate, Pendleton, and at Grant Union High School, 911 S, Canyon Blvd., in John Day.

The fires prompted the closure of Highway 395 from Nye Junction at about milepost 24 to Ukiah, near milepost 50. The Oregon Department of Transportation at approximately 9:45 p.m. extended that from milepost 16, on the south end of Pilot Rock, to milepost 50.

But ODOT at about 10 a.m. July 18 announced Highway 395 was open between Pilot Rock and the junction with Highway 244, and Highway 74 was open from Highway 395 to Heppner. For the latest on state road closures and conditions, visit tripcheck.com.

Pacific Power reported it shut down power to lines in the area not long after the fires started to ensure there was no harm to the lines or first responders, leaving 3,186 customers without power as of 5:30 p.m.

“If we have a wildfire that burns too close to our equipment, we de-energize the lines to protect the firefighters and others,” said Simon Gutierrez, a member of the Pacific Power media team. “We turned it off as a precaution.”

The company has since restored power. You can check power outage information here.

 

For information on being prepared for wildfire visit wildfire.oregon.gov/prepare.