Wind dies down, evacuation warnings lowered for Deadman Pass fire
Evacuation notices for the area around Deadman Pass were lowered Sunday afternoon from Level 3 to Level 2 as crews continued to battle the Weigh Station Fire east of Pendleton.
A Level 2 evacuation means residents can return home, but should be ready to leave again at a moment’s notice if necessary. Jamie Knight, spokesperson with the Oregon Department of Forestry, said 20 structures have been threatened by the fire, but it’s not certain how many of those are primary residences.
Columns of smoke could still be seen rising over the blaze Sunday, which has scorched roughly 500 acres of grass and timber along Interstate 84 up Emigrant Hill. The total number of acres burned had been estimated as high as 800, but that figure changed based on more accurate mapping, Knight said.
The fire is 25 percent contained as of Sunday evening. Evacuation warnings for the nearby town of Meacham also have been lifted entirely.
“The winds didn’t come up like they did (Saturday),” Knight said. “That really helped a lot.”
The freeway, which had been closed for nearly 24 hours, also reopened Sunday after firefighters finished removing hazard trees from along the road.
The fire started Saturday at about 12:30 p.m., with residents and Emigrant Springs State Park evacuated later that evening. More than a dozen people wound up at the Oregon Trail Store & Deli in Meacham where they planned what to do next.
“We’re kind of at the center of town,” said store owner Dixie Earle. “We had people load up here and regroup, and figure out where they were going.”
Earle said the store’s phone lines were knocked out earlier in the day, and a nearly two-hour power failure in Union County may have also been attributed to the fire damaging power lines. Though the fire never came too close to Meacham, Earle said they could see plenty of smoke hovering in the distance.
A temporary shelter for residents was established up at Sunridge Middle School in Pendleton, though Rebecca Vaughn with the American Red Cross said nobody had arrived by Sunday morning. That likely means those families found assistance elsewhere, Vaughn said, though the shelter will remain available until evacuation orders are lifted.
“We’re ready to stand down when we get the word,” Vaughn said.
The Blue Mountain Type 3 Interagency Incident Management Team took command of the fire Sunday morning, and will continue to work strengthening fire lines in the coming days. There are approximately 285 firefighters on scene, with fire camp established on private property at Poverty Flats.
As many as nine single-engine air tankers, one heavy air tanker, two helicopters, one air attack and one lead plane have been called in to provide air support, along with three bulldozers and more than a dozen fire engines on the ground.