Oregon fire forces evacuations, highway closure
A firefighter scrambles to stop a wildfire as wind drives embers across Highway 20 near Clearlake Oaks, Calif., on Sunday, July 1, 2018. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
Authorities have ordered people in about 50 homes to evacuate due to a wildfire north of Bend, Oregon, in Warm Springs.
KTVZ-TV reports a smoldering fire near the former Warm Springs wood mill sparked a fire in high winds Monday afternoon that also shut down Highway 26 near the Deschutes River.
It wasn’t immediately known how much land had burned.
Warm Springs tribal assistant fire management officer William Wilson says the fire jumped the highway and was moving toward a neighborhood on the reservation where the evacuation notices were issued.
Other people in nearby homes have been told to be set to leave.
Wilson said the mill fire has been burning since last year in areas of sawdust and bark where firefighters typically don’t go because of associated hazards. /kga
