BLM Sells 1.57 Million Board Feet from Durkee Fire in Baker County
The BLM sold about 1.57 million board feet of salvage timber from roughly 250 public acres 12 miles southwest of Durkee, a volume the agency says could build about 100 homes.
The Bureau of Land Management moved forward with a Durkee Fire salvage sale that totaled about 1.57 million board feet of usable timber from roughly 250 public acres located about 12 miles southwest of Durkee in Baker County. Elkhorn Media Group reported the sale was completed in September 2025; BLM materials and regional press show the agency solicited bids in July 2025 and accepted sealed bids through 1 p.m. Pacific Time on Aug. 4, 2025.
BLM’s solicitation directed prospective bidders to submit offers by mail or in person at the Baker Field Office housed in the National Historic Oregon Trail Interpretive Center. The BLM release lists the field office address as 22267 Hwy. 86, Baker City, OR 97814; one regional outlet printed the address as 22287 Highway 86. Baker City Herald and the BLM noted that potential purchasers should notify the gate worker they are attending the auction and would not need to pay the usual fee to visit the interpretive center.
Vale District Manager Shane DeForest framed the sale as a public-safety and economic measure, saying, “These trees were damaged by the 2024 Durkee Fire and are now a safety hazard to the public enjoying our public lands.” The BLM release added, “Selling the timber mitigates those hazards, supports local jobs and converts the material to lumber and other wood products that improve life for all Americans.”
The Durkee Fire, which began from a lightning strike about a mile west of Durkee, burned 294,265 acres of grass, sagebrush and some timber from mid-July to early August 2024, according to Inciweb incident summaries cited in regional reporting. BLM’s announcement emphasized that the salvage sale was limited to public lands impacted by the 2024 fire and described the sale volume as “enough timber to build roughly 100 homes.”
Regional and agency messaging tied the sale to local processing and jobs. The BLM release states that the Oregon-Washington forestry program’s sales “support approximately 2,000 local jobs and generate more than $1 billion for local economies” each year, while the agency and subsequent coverage said the Durkee salvage would “feed local mills, and support jobs in Oregon communities.”
Post-harvest work is slated to include restoration. Elkhorn Media Group reported that following harvest operations crews are to begin replanting native vegetation, including Douglas-fir and ponderosa pine seedlings, as part of landscape recovery and reforestation efforts.
BLM’s July–August 2025 bidding window and the September 2025 sale award reported in regional coverage mark the administrative timeline in Baker County; public sale prospectus and contract documents would contain the specific harvest prescriptions, timelines for removal, and purchaser details.
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