Durkee Fire 'advancing rapidly' toward I-84 as wildfire doubles in size
The Durkee Fire, sparked by a lightning strike, has grown to over 239,250 acres and has led to Level 3 and Level 2 evacuations in Baker and Malheur counties, prompting Gov. Tina Kotek to invoke the Emergency Conflagration Act.
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – The Durkee Fire nearly doubled in size Monday night to reach more than 239,250 acres, or 373 square miles, according to latest wildfire reports.
A lightning strike sparked the fire off I-84 near Durkee on Thursday, July 18. It prompted Level 3 “Go Now” and Level 2 “Be Ready” evacuation notices as early as Friday, and has since grown into Oregon’s largest wildfire of 2024.
The latest evacuations can be found on the social media pages for the Baker County Sheriff’s Office and the Malheur County Sheriff’s Office.
I-84 is currently closed in both directions between Baker City (Exit 302) and Ontario (Exit 374), according to the Oregon Department of Transportation.
"This fire is advancing rapidly towards the highway in multiple locations in the Farewell Bend area," ODOT said. "Avoid the area and delay your travel plans or consider using alternative routes using major highways. Do not rely on GPS for directions or attempt to detour using county or forest roads, as these are not suitable for interstate traffic and may be affected by ongoing fire activity."
Officials say the closure is expected to last through the day. Current road conditions can be found via TripCheck.
On Sunday, Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek invoked the Emergency Conflagration Act to combat the growing blaze. Its invocation allowed additional resources from around the state to be redirected to help fight the fire.
"Today, firefighters are working on connecting firelines into Deer Creek in the north," officials said. "The Durkee Fire has burned into two past fire scars which will support personnel in their work by slowing fire spread and giving firefighters more time to connect firelines and conduct firing operations from. Aviation will continue to be an asset to crews by dropping water and retardant."
According to numbers reported by the State of Oregon Fires and Hotspots Dashboard, at least 126 active fires are burning throughout the state with more than 708,000 total acres burned. This converts to 1,106 square miles of scorched land.
The Durkee Fire is among three other wildfires to reach “megafire” status, meaning the fires have reached a size of at least 100,000 acres, in 2024.
Stay with KOIN 6 News as we continue our wildfire coverage.