The Falls fire near the town of Burns has grown to 91,269 acres and destroyed 23 structures since it started last Wednesday, according to a statement from Falls Fire 2024, an official information source about the fire provided by state and federal agencies.
The wildfire, about 13 miles north of Burns and 15 miles southwest of Seneca, is 0% contained. Level 3 “Go now” evacuation notices are in effect for much of north Harney County and some parts of south Grant County, according to an official evacuation map.
Falls Fire 2024 said that 1,413 firefighters are battling the Falls fire, which is one of 11 large wildfires currently burning in the state, according to the Northwest Interagency Coordination Center, a group of federal and state organizations that tracks natural disasters and helps coordinate responses to them. A large wildfire is defined as 100 acres or more in timberland or 300 acres or more in grassland.
Lauren Maloney, a spokesperson for the Northwest Interagency Coordination Center, said Oregon has had 22 large wildfires so far this year — nine more than the state had by this time last year.
Maloney added that sustained warm temperatures have dried out plants and vegetation more than they usually are in mid-July, which has led to an increase in human-caused fires.
The Northwest Interagency Coordination Center reports that wildfires have burned 364,694 acres in Oregon so far this year, and firefighting agencies have spent more than $100 million to battle fires throughout the state.
Firefighters in Oregon have seen some success containing large fires, including the 4,102-acre Salt Creek fire in Jackson County. It is now 73% contained. The more than 1,000-acre Upper Pine fire in Harney County is 85% contained, and the 133,407-acre Cow Valley fire, which is 16% contained, according to the Malheur County Sheriff’s Office.
In a statement on Wednesday morning, the sheriff’s office said that all evacuation readiness warnings near the Cow Valley fire in Malheur County had been lifted.
Oregon State Fire Marshal spokesperson John Hendricks said the threat to homes posed by the Cow Valley fire has decreased enough that the structural-fire task agencies that were sent there on Thursday have now been moved to Gilliam and Morrow County’s Lone Rock fire, which has grown to 69,354 acres and is threatening 100 homes.
— Tatum Todd covers crime and public safety. Reach them at ttodd@oregonian.com, or 503-221-4313.
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