A large fire galloping across rangeland in southeastern Oregon spread nearly 250,000 acres in past 24 hours.
The Longdraw fire sparked by lightning about 20 miles south of Burns Junction on Sunday has scorched nearly 300,000 acres and threatens almost 300 structures. It's now the largest fire in the country, according to Don Smurthwaite, spokesman for the Bureau of Land Management.
A Type 1 team -- the highest level -- is being put in place amid extreme fire conditions.
"It's supposed to reach 101 today, with humidity in the single digits so there's more potential for growth," said Mike Stearly, spokesman for the new fire management team.
The wind-swept wildfire has destroyed at least one barn and several outbuildings, said Mark Wilkening, a spokesman for the Bureau of Land Management. It has burned across both sides of Highway 95 near the Nevada border, blackening 28 miles.
"That's a lot," said Carol Connolly, spokeswoman for the Northwest Interagency Coordination Center.
An Oregon Department of Transportation crew is using a pilot car to guide drivers through the smokey area. The highway could face intermittent closures.
Firefighters were hampered by a lack of resources on Tuesday but more crews poured into the area overnight, Stearly said. An air tanker dumped retardant on the fire and special bulldozers have dug lines around the fire on the west side of Highway 95 and partly on the east, which is the most active area. The fire is running so rapidly, with
4-footlong flames and spotting one-half a mile ahead of the fire that it's roared through green sagebrush as if it were dry fuel.
Stearly said no one has been evacuated. A contingency plan is in place for McDermitt, located west of Highway 95. The threatened structures include 20 commercial buildings, 70 homes and about 200 outbuildings.
Although the fire danger remains high, the National Weather Service lifted the red flag warnings that it had in place in the southeastern and eastern part of the state.
In other fire news around the state:
A new fire was reported Tuesday just northeast of Monument. The Briley Mountain fire, caused by lightning, has burned through 650 acres of brush and grass.
The Miller Homestead fire just west of Frenchglen continues to threaten the town but no one has been ordered to evacuate, Connolly said. The wind-driven fire, sparked by lightning, has spread to 45,000 acres and is 10 percent contained.
The Bonita complex fire 20 miles northwest of Westfall has seared 15,000 acres of brush and grass. Crews have it 10 percent contained.
The Steward Ditch II fire east of Dayville, covering 230 acres, is now completely contained.
Fire crews southwest of Chelan, Wash., have completely contained the Navarre fire as well. It scorched 800 acres.
Copyright 2012 - The Oregonian, Portland, Ore.
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
