The Durkee Fire, sparked by lightning on July 17, 2024, burns near Durkee in Baker County. The fire grew to nearly 300,000 acres.

THE STORY: An unprecedented rash of wildfires started with several human-caused blazes in northern Malheur County in early July, the largest of which, the Cow Valley Fire, burned about 139,000 acres of rangeland.

As firefighters were getting control of that blaze, a lightning bolt on the morning of July 17 ignited what would become the biggest blaze in the nation — and the biggest in Baker County history.

The fire started near Durkee, about 20 miles southeast of Baker City. Propelled by gusty winds, and spurred by temperatures topping 100 and kiln-like humidity, flames spread more than 20 miles and eventually burned 293,000 acres in Baker and northern Malheur counties.

The Durkee Fire, which was south of Interstate 84 and like the Cow Valley Fire burned primarily in sagebrush and grass, burned to the boundaries of the Cow Valley Fire.

Another lightning storm, on July 22, started several fires north of Interstate 84. Those fires became the Badlands Complex, which scorched another 50,000 or so acres, again primarily rangeland rather than forest.

That wasn’t the case, though, with the last of the year’s major wildfires in Baker County.

The Town Gulch Fire, started by lightning on Aug. 4, burned both rangeland and timber in the Eagle Creek area north of Richland. Gusty winds, combining with temperatures above 100, pushed the fire east to near the edge of Pine Valley, leading to evacuation notices.

At least one home burned along Eagle Creek, but, as with the other fires, no serious injuries were reported.

THE LATEST: Work started in late summer to rehabilitate some of the scorched ground. Top priorities are to spur the growth of grass and to repel noxious weeds, which can rapidly return after a fire. Most of the fires burned in grass and sagebrush, but the Town Gulch fire burned in forest, as well, and the U.S. Forest Service is considering offering timber sales to logging companies to salvage some of the burned trees.