Western Oregon wildfires continue to burn, send smoke into Bend

Published 3:30 pm Friday, August 18, 2023

Firefighters support one another while mopping up in deep ash on steep terrain on the Bedrock Fire in this photo posted Thursday to InciWeb. 

Four fires continued to burn west of the Cascades on Friday and send smoke into Central Oregon.

Three of the fires were burning in the Willamette National Forest, while the fourth was just east of the forest boundary.

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The largest, the Bedrock Fire, had burned more than 28,200 acres as of Friday afternoon and was 25% contained, according to InciWeb.

More than 1,000 people are working on the fire, which started July 22 about 10 miles east of Lowell, according to the report.

Southeast of the Bedrock Fire, the Salmon Fire had burned 135 acres and was 95% contained as of Friday afternoon.

The Lookout Fire, burning just north of state Highway 126 near Tokatee Golf Club, had burned 5,537 acres and had no containment.

About 10 miles southeast of Sweet Home, the Wiley Creek Fire had burned 245 acres and was 45% contained, according to a news release from the U.S. Forest Service and the Oregon Department of Forestry.

Maps at airnow.gov on Friday afternoon showed smoke from the Bedrock and Lookout fires traveling east and covering an area from north of Redmond to south of Bend. Three monitoring stations in Bend recorded air quality at unhealthy to very unhealthy levels early Friday morning, according to the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality.

At Redmond High School, the station recorded air quality in the hazardous range at 9 a.m. and 10 a.m. Friday morning, according to the DEQ, while La Pine’s air was unhealthy for sensitive groups during the morning.

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The DEQ and Lane Regional Air Protection Agency issued an air quality advisory Friday for Deschutes, Crook and several other counties until noon Sunday.

Oregon’s largest wildfire, the Flat Fire burning northeast of Gold Beach, had scorched 33,895 acres as of Friday afternoon and was 58% contained.

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