Wildfire erupts northwest of Prineville, prompts evacuation order

Published 3:18 pm Wednesday, July 2, 2025

A 50-acre wildfire burning northwest of Prineville and east of U.S. Highway 26 has prompted Level-3-Go Now evacuations for 18 households.

As of 4 p.m., 23 residences were also under Level-2-Be Set evacuation and 396 homes were  under Level-1-Be warnings.

Kim Johnson, a spokesperson for Central Oregon Fire Management Service, said the fire was 230 acres as of 4:15 p.m.

Resources attacking the fire include seven engines, four air tankers, two helicopters and one dozer with more resources en route, according to Central Oregon Fire Info.

A Level-1-Get Ready evacuation level has been established west of the fire zone (east of Culver) and a level-2 evacuation level has been set up south of the fire zone (north of Prineville).

Updates on the fire can be found on the Central Oregon Fire X/Twitter page at @CentralORfire.

This is a breaking news event, more information to follow.