WALLOWA COUNTY, Ore. — As of Sunday morning, the fast-growing Double Creek Fire had spread to 37,862 acres — over 59 square miles — in the Wallowa National Forest near the community of Imnaha in northeastern Oregon.
Burning since Tuesday, the fire grew so fast that Saturday afternoon Gov. Kate Brown invoked the Emergency Conflagration Act, allowing the Office of the State Fire Marshal to take unified command of suppression efforts.
The wildfire continues to threaten some buildings and has forced evacuations. As of Sunday morning, those evacuations remained as follows:
- Hat Point and Freezeout Road are under a Level 3 "Go Now"
- Hat Point Road is closed due to fire activity
- Imnaha River Road, from Rippleton Creek to the Imnaha Grange is under a Level 2 "Get Set"
- Imnaha River Road, from the town of Imnaha to Rippleton Creek and the Imnaha Grange to the Pallette Ranch, including Imnaha River Woods, is under a Level 1 "Be Ready"
Fire officials said that the Double Creek Fire grew significantly throughout Saturday, moving north along Grizzly Ridge and east toward the Snake River. In the south, flames moved more slowly down the Granny Creek drainage toward Freezeout Road.
Fire crews worked to protect private lands and infrastructure along the Imnaha River corridor, but were forced to fall back several times as fire behavior grew more intense and erratic.
Working together, ground crews and fire aviators had to evacuate several hunting parties that were stranded Saturday due to the rapid fire growth.
While fire officials anticipated milder winds on Sunday, they said that the warm and dry conditions would result in active fire spread along Grizzly Ridge and to the north, as well as backing downslope toward the Imnaha River.
Task forces from Lane, Clatsop, Washington and Yamhill counties are assisting with the fire, according to the OSFM.
“As soon as we get that order for conflagration, that's when our firefighters get moving just as quick as they can," said Alison Green from the Office of the State Fire Marshal. "We are going to work as hard as we can protect as many folks as we can and as many properties as we can.”
Fire officials also remain focused on the Rum Creek Fire in Southwest Oregon, though the Double Creek surpassed it in size over the weekend. Rum Creek has consumed nearly 19,000 acres so far and is about 27% contained.
The Oregon National Guard has joined the firefighting effort in Southwest Oregon. A cold front posed a new challenge this weekend, but so far, officials are pleased that their efforts are holding the lines.
“Cold fronts help moderate the temperature, they help moderate the weather, but there are big winds that bring the cold fronts in," Green said. "When those cold fronts are coming in, it's a watch-out for our firefighters on the ground because it means high winds.”
The fires have also impacted air quality. The football game between North Medford and West Linn scheduled for North Medford was moved to Eugene because of bad air.
Like the Rum Creek Fire in Southwest Oregon, lightning was the cause of the Double Creek Fire. This weekend fire officials hope people exercise caution to prevent even more wildfires from breaking out.
“We can't control the lightning, but we can as humans do our absolute best to prevent the fires that are human caused. “