A fast-moving fire that started 10 miles southeast of Condon has grown to 64,860 acres and is 1% contained, Central Oregon Fire Information reported Tuesday morning.
Gov. Tina Kotek invoked the Emergency Conflagration Act on Monday, allowing more state resources to battle the wildfire in north-central Oregon.
The Lone Rock fire started Saturday afternoon and is one of eight large wildfires currently burning across the state, the Northwest Interagency Coordination Center reported. The center — which classifies a large wildfire as 100 acres or more in timberland or 300 acres or more in grassland — reported a big jump in wildfire activity from last year.
There have been 22 large wildfires in the state this year. By July 15 last year, there had been 13, according to the center’s officials.
The Lone Rock fire is burning in grassland and brushland and grew 13,000 acres Monday evening and overnight, according to Central Oregon Fire Information.
Around 200 firefighters and other crew are fighting the fire.
The cause is still under investigation, according to the agency.
A Level 3 “Go Now!” evacuation order is in place for the Lonerock community in Gilliam County and the southwestern corner of Morrow County, the Morrow County Sheriff’s Office reported. A Level 2 “Get Set!” evacuation order is in place from Hardman to the southern border of Morrow County.
Crews have made some more progress on surrounding fires, bringing the 133,407-acre Cow Valley fire in Malheur County to 16% containment and the 18,689-acre Larch Creek fire in Wasco County to 14% containment, according to the Northwest Interagency Coordination Center.
The Harney County Falls fire remains at 0% containment. It grew about 20,000 acres in the last day, reaching 85,348 acres as of Tuesday morning, the interagency center reported.
All three fires — Cow Valley, Falls and Larch Creek — are human-caused.
— Sujena Soumyanath is a reporter on The Oregonian/OregonLive’s public safety team. You can reach her at 503-221-4309 or ssoumyanath@oregonian.com .
