Firefighters are bracing for "explosive fire growth" Thursday on the Canyon Creek complex east of John Day after the fire grew by more than 11,000 acres the day before.
Local fire departments from around Grant County were pressed into duty Wednesday to protect scores of homes in the path of the fire. Most crews were staffed by volunteers, who worked through the night.
They were needed because state fire officials were confident earlier Wednesday that fire conditions were improving. Two task forces of 10 engines from departments in Umatilla and Deschutes counties hit the road first thing Wednesday. They had been on duty to protect homes.
Their departure was followed hours later by reduced evacuation levels for two rural residential areas that had been under direct threat since Sunday. Police moved from directing immediate evacuation in the Upper Dog Creek and Upper Pine Creek areas to warning residents to be ready to evacuate again.
Those residents were on the move again Wednesday afternoon, when evacuation orders were renewed. Additional areas in the Indian Creek area also were ordered evacuated.
Those orders came as the fire erupted into a towering plume that could be seen 75 miles to the south in Burns. The fire burned into full view in the John Day Valley, alarming residents in nearby Prairie City, a town of about 900 that is 15 miles east of John Day.
The mayor there, Jim Hamsher, late Wednesday asked residents to start watering dry yards and structures to guard against burning embers.
Smoke and swirling winds stopped helicopters and single-engine retardant bombers from attacking the fire Wednesday afternoon.
"They couldn't get in there," said Traci Weaver, public information officer for the Canyon Creek complex.
A U.S. Forest Service map shows the boundaries of the Canyon Creek complex fires on Thursday morning.
Fire officials summoned air tankers, diverted from other assignments. Six tankers made at least seven drops along fire lines bulldozed earlier to protect homes. The tankers dropped up to 12,000 gallons of retardant on a trail that can stretch 3 miles. They had to stop as darkness fell.
Fire officials had anticipated for days the fire could grow to the northeast as it did. An earlier state task force of 45 engines had focused on installing temporary water pumps, portable ponds and hose line around homes nestled in the woods on the north edge of the Strawberry Wilderness. They also wrapped some homes in heat-reflective sheeting.
Emergency radio traffic Wednesday night reflected the struggle of fire crews trying to protect the homes. At one point, a commander asked for four more water tankers -- and was told none was available. He asked dispatchers to get on the phone to find some.
The local crews received late-night help when yet another task force of engines from agencies around Oregon arrived. The state fire marshal's office ordered 15 engines and crews from Deschutes, Clackamas and Washington counties.
Weaver said the weather turned worse than expected Wednesday. That drove the fire downslope and then on an eastern run.
She said early reports indicated the earlier preparation work spared homes, including that of the Malheur National Forest's top fire official, Roy Walker.
"He was standing on his front porch this morning," Weaver said Thursday.
Weaver said hot temperatures, low humidity and local winds are expected to challenge fire crews. She said crews had been told to expect "explosive fire growth" Thursday afternoon.
Fire crews were alerted that the fire could throw embers and start spot fires a mile or more from the main fire line. In some locations, the fire could spread 25 feet in a minute. Winds are forecast at 10 to 15 mph on the ridges with gusts to 20 mph.
Infrared mapping early Thursday showed the fire now covers 85,960 acres -- a 15 percent increase in one day. The complex started as two smaller fires ignited by lightning Aug. 12. Wind two days later merged the two fires and poured the blaze through the Canyon Creek canyon south of John Day, destroying at least 39 homes and more than 50 barns, shops and other outbuildings. The only injuries reported so far have been minor injuries to two firefighters.
The fire has switched direction several times since the start, and has consumed a huge portion of the Strawberry Wilderness. The wilderness, known for pristine high-mountain lakes reached by trails, has been closed since last week. A large chunk of the wilderness was burned by the Wildcat fire in 1996.
-- Les Zaitz
503-221-8181; @leszaitz