Wildfire near Cabbage Hill causes brief Union County power outage

A wildfire near Cabbage Hill knocked out power to more than 12,600 Oregon Trail Electric Cooperative member-owners across the La Grande area shortly after 1 p.m. on June 16, briefly turning Union County into a test case for summer fire-season reliability. Service was restored by 2:40 p.m., but the outage swept through homes, businesses and public communications during hot, windy weather that made the risk of a larger disruption feel immediate.

The blackout reached beyond a single neighborhood. Oregon Department of Transportation Region 5 office communications in La Grande were affected, and the kind of interruption that followed can quickly touch refrigeration, water systems, traffic signals and medical equipment. For small businesses and households alike, a short outage can still mean spoiled inventory, missed work, interrupted phone and internet service, and a scramble to keep cooling systems running.

The timing underscored how quickly fire restrictions and utility reliability now overlap in Union County. Commissioners approved early entry into regulated use fire season effective June 3, and the restriction remains in place through Sept. 30 unless extended or modified. Oregon Department of Forestry restrictions took effect in Union County on June 8, just days before the Cabbage Hill fire disrupted power. ODF and its partners use fire season restrictions to reduce human-caused wildfires, and the outage showed how a fire in a vulnerable corridor can immediately spill into daily life in La Grande, Island City, Imbler, Elgin and Cove.

Oregon Trail Electric says wildfire hazards are a major operational concern because it serves heavily forested areas across four Eastern Oregon counties and nearly 60,000 residents. The cooperative says its wildfire mitigation plan was formalized and revised in 2022, and it has also emphasized public safety power shutoffs, preparedness and wildfire town halls as part of that planning. The June 16 outage was a reminder that the county is now living with that risk in real time, not as a distant seasonal warning.

OTEC urges members who still lose power to call its 24-hour outage hotline at 1-866-430-4265, text outage to 541-406-6980, or report the problem through an online account. Its outage center also provides a real-time map and restoration tracking. For households that rely on electricity for medical equipment, refrigeration or mobility needs, the practical lesson is clear: keep backup power, chargers, food storage and communication plans ready before the next high-risk weather system moves through Union County.