HERMISTON — Umatilla County Fire District No. 1 the afternoon of Friday, June 13, reported firefighters have contained the fire that set off earlier in the day in the area of Bensel Road and Liberty Lane in Hermiston.

The fire prompted the Umatilla County Sheriff’s Office to issue a Level 3 evacuation — “go now — for residents south of Bensel Road to Klaus Road and east of Highway 395 to Alpine Drive.

“We are asking the public to stay out of the area to allow responders to work the fire,” the sheriff’s office urged in a statement on its Facebook page. “Law enforcement remains in the area directing traffic and enforcing closed roads.”

In addition to Umatilla County Fire District No. 1, numerous local agencies responded to quell the blaze, including fire departments from Heppner, Pilot Rock, Athena and the Umatilla Indian Reservation. The fire district at 4:44 p.m. on its Facebook page reported the efforts resulted in stopping the fire’s forward progress.

But not before the blaze destroyed school buses parked a lot on Liberty Lane. Umatilla County Fire District No. 1 also reported crews will continue mop-up and conduct damage assessments and urged the public to stay out of the area because it is hazardous.