Fire crews report progress containing Baker County wildfires
Granite’s evacuation level was lowered as the Salmon Fire reached 15% containment, while the Anthony Fire held at 1,948 acres and 6% contained. Crews gained ground, but closures and smoke still affected Greenhorn, Anthony Lakes and nearby roads.
Granite’s evacuation level was lowered as crews pushed the Salmon Fire to 15% containment, giving Baker County a small but important break after days of closures, smoke and fire-line work. The Anthony Fire, meanwhile, stood at 1,948 acres and 6% containment, a sign that firefighters were slowing both major blazes even as the threat remained in the Greenhorn and Anthony Lakes areas.
The Salmon Fire, formerly called the Greenhorn Fire, had reached 803 acres when evacuation zones were expanded on July 12. By July 15, the Oregon State Fire Marshal said crews had reached 5% containment on the Salmon and Olive Butte fires as cooler weather helped the fight. Baker City Herald later reported both fires were 10% contained on July 16, and by July 17 the Salmon Fire had climbed to 15% containment as officials lowered the evacuation level for Granite.
The Anthony Fire moved more slowly but still required close monitoring. A Wallowa-Whitman National Forest update put it at 1,917 acres on July 14, then 1,948 acres on July 16, with containment at 6% in the latest update. The U.S. Forest Service said the temporary closure around the Salmon and Anthony fires was expanded to ensure public safety, a restriction that cut into Anthony Lakes summer revenue and kept pressure on travel and recreation in the area.
The scale of the response showed how much ground had to be covered. Baker City Herald reported more than 500 people were fighting the two major blazes in and near Baker County on July 11, with state resources helping protect Granite, a historic town close to the fire-threatened terrain. Two firefighters were hurt on the Salmon Fire near Greenhorn on July 15, but both were in stable condition, underscoring that the work on the line remained hazardous even as containment improved.
For residents near Greenhorn, Granite, Sumpter and the Anthony Lakes corridor, the change from expansion to containment mattered immediately. Better line holding can mean fewer evacuations, shorter closure timelines and less smoke drifting into towns and along travel routes, but wind and dry fuels can still erase gains quickly. In the next 24 to 48 hours, local attention will stay fixed on evacuation levels, road access and whether crews can keep the lines around the Salmon and Anthony fires from breaking.
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