The Durkee Fire in Eastern Oregon, now the largest wildfire in the nation, is still tearing through hundreds of thousands of acres of forest. Crews are attacking it from both the ground and the air, but it has already consumed dozens of buildings. It is only one of several dozen massive wildfires currently blazing across the Beaver State.
Thousands of Oregonians are under evacuation orders as firefighters continue their battle to save towns and wilderness from wildfires sparked by lightning last week. The Durkee Fire has reduced nearly 270,000 acres to ash in Malheur and Baker counties so far. According to Dana Leavitt, a spokesman for the fire team, more than five hundred firefighters are currently involved in the battle to contain it. Aircraft, hotshot crews, and fire engines from twenty-six states have joined the effort.
Thursday the 25th saw a temperature drop and a calming of the wind, and some overnight rain, but even under these favorable conditions the fire still grew by an estimated thirty thousand acres. Officials have classified this expansion as “moderate fire behavior,” a marked improvement from the “extreme fire behavior” earlier in the week, when winds gusted up to 75 miles an hour and ambient temperatures hovered in the 90s.
According to Leavitt, the fire manager has an optimistic outlook due to the improved weather conditions.
The Northwest Interagency Coordination Center manages fire resources in the region and told reporters that fire teams will seize the opportunity presented by the improved weather to directly attack the Durkee Fire in the hopes of establishing containment.
A further 350 homes and 380 other buildings are now under threat from the fire as it continues on its path of destruction. Despite this, the improvement in conditions led Sheriff’s Departments in Baker and Malheur counties to lift or scale back evacuation orders, allowing people to return from their homes. They have also re-opened the threatened stretch of Interstate 84.
Still, the fight to contain the fire continues.
