Union County sends wildland crew to fight Lower Dry Creek Fire

Union County Fire Department sent a wildland task force to help fight the Lower Dry Creek Fire in neighboring Umatilla County as the blaze grew to about 5,000 acres and evacuation lines widened around Milton-Freewater. The move pushes Union County crews into a fast-moving regional mutual-aid response during peak wildfire season, while Umatilla County Fire District kept open burning closed until Oct. 1.

Umatilla County issued go-now evacuation orders south of Milton-Freewater on July 15, and by Wednesday night the evacuation zone had expanded farther across eastern Umatilla County. OPB put the number of people under Level 3, Go Now, evacuation at about 1,700 as dry conditions and strong winds fed the fire.

Watch Duty’s fire map showed the fire had crossed Highway 204, marking another sign of how quickly the blaze was moving through rural ground north of the county line. An evacuation shelter was open at Athena High School, 540 E. Main St. in Athena, for people forced out by the evacuation levels.

The state response grew as well. The Oregon State Fire Marshal dispatched task forces and a management team to the fire in Umatilla County, adding state crews to local departments already stretched by the spread near Milton-Freewater. For Union County, the deployment means one of its own wildland resources is now part of a fight that is being driven by wind, drought and expanding evacuation orders just next door.