VALE, Ore. — Though contained as of Friday evening at 27%, eastern Oregon's Durkee Fire continues to grow in places, especially to the northwest. It remains the largest wildfire currently burning in the country.
To some, it may not seem like there's much to burn along these rolling, grassy hills; but to the community living in the region, it's their livelihood. Ranchers in Vale told KGW there's no way to know at this time just how many cattle — and ranches — have been lost to the flames.
"Completely devastating," said Mark McBride. "High emotions, high losses. And it will remain that way for a generation."
McBride, also a volunteer firefighter for Vale Rangeland Fire Protection Association, added, "One of our family ranches is right in the middle of it, and one of them next to come if we can't get it stopped."
In addition to farming and ranching, many in this community, including Kelsey Haueter, fight fires on a volunteer basis, and they're often the first to see the fires start.
"You know, we've had a couple of other fires that got bigger than what we wanted around here as well. But this one is a whole new ballgame for some of us," said Haueter, interim president of the Vale RFPA and president of Ironside RFPA.
"It's been really weird. Normally, it will burn for a while, and you can kind of get it under control," she continued. "This, as well as the Cow Valley Fire, it's just been running. It's wind-driven, then it creates its own wind and there's no way of getting ahead of it."
"We are trying to get as close as we can to minimize those acres burnt," added Operations Section Chief Ryan Sullivan.
At incident command for the Durkee Fire, Sullivan and his crews feel more confident in their ability to contain the flames, especially along Interstate 84. In the northwest corner, though, conditions are more uncertain.
"This is mountainous, a lot of steep canyons, steep drops in this area here," Sullivan explained.
All eyes are on the Durkee Fire now; but in this community of neighbors helping neighbors, they're also thinking ahead, hoping to be fully prepared for the next fire.
"We don't really care about boundaries right now," Haueter said. "As far as if it's close to me, I'm going to it. If it's closest to somebody else, they're going to go to it as well."
"We are 100% volunteer, and it's 100% our deal," Sullivan said, "so we are going to keep fueling trucks. We are going to keep fighting fire … Soon as we know we're done, we are going to go help our neighbors on the other end because they need it."
There are ways to help, such as with the Vale Community Coalition, which is collecting monetary donations. Others locally are donating supplies, including hay, to help ranchers and firefighters.