DUFUR, Ore. — The Wasco County Sheriff's Office lowered evacuation levels around the Larch Creek Fire on Wednesday thanks to the hard work of firefighters and favorable weather conditions. By the morning, containment of the fire had grown to 27% — nearly double what it was the day prior.
An update on the sheriff's office Facebook page around 5 p.m. read, "Crews are being released and the fire will be in mop up shortly. Thank you to our fast working first responders!"
Teams from the Oregon State Fire Marshal's office fully demobilized Tuesday morning due to the pressing need for firefighting resources in other parts of the state.
The human-caused Larch Creek Fire, last estimated to have burned some 18,690 acres, ignited on July 9 and threatened over a thousand homes — including the property of Niles Sheldon.
"Our property is over there ... it came, and the firefighters were awesome,” Sheldon said. “They saved it but about 30 feet from the barn and it burned clear up back to the machine shop.”
Video from a Tygh Valley resident shows how effectively crews attacked the fire from the air. In one clip, a water drop from a single-engine plane appears to knock back the encroaching flames in a matter of seconds.
“Man, you better believe it — they’re number one in my book,” Sheldon said.
He wasn’t the only one thanking the men and women who protected his small community.
“Everybody pitched in,” said Joy Gabel. “(Molly B’s Diner was) feeding people, the fire crew for free. The store over here was giving things to the firefighters for free, 'Come get what you need.'”
Kaleb Clark helps manage the Tygh Valley General Store and decided to give out free water to firefighters. He said they’ve gone through about two pallets of bottles this past week.
READ MORE: Tygh Valley farm stand providing free produce to evacuees, fire crews battling Larch Creek Fire
“They can just grab a case and take it back and hand them out to everyone else that needs it,” he said. “It was nice — a lot of people appreciated it, a lot of fire people appreciated it.”
The general store also stayed open late several nights so both fire trucks and locals could gas up before heading in or out.
While running the store, Clark also evacuated from his own home, and helped his grandparents evacuate.
In an update posted around 6 p.m. Wednesday evening, the Wasco County Sheriff's Office lifted all Level 3 "Go Now" evacuation levels, reducing some to Level 2 "Get Set." Some Level 2s were reduced to Level 1 "Get Ready" notices, and previous Level 1 zones were lifted.
Although the evacuation levels are dropping, and more people are returning home, Clark knows the work isn’t done.
“Fires moved away from us thankfully; everything has kind of calmed down for the most part,” Clark said. “A lot of (firefighters) will still stay out here and watch the hot spots.”
He plans to offer what he can while firefighters are in the valley.