Kah-Nee-Ta resort evacuated as a precaution

Approximately 500 guests and 100 to 150 employees were evacuated Friday from Kah-Nee-Ta resort on the Warm Springs Indian Reservation, as crews continue to battle the County Line 2 Fire.

Estimated at 36,154 acres Friday morning, the fire is burning on both sides of U.S. Highway 26 to the northwest of the town of Warm Springs.

Four unoccupied houses have burned since the fire was discovered Wednesday, according to Doug Epperson, a spokesman with Oregon Incident Management Team #1. Epperson said Kah-Nee-Ta and adjoining neighborhoods are not immediately threatened by the fire. Friday’s evacuations were more of a precaution, he said, as limited access in and out of the area would have made a rapid evacuation hazardous.

Concerts scheduled for Friday night and Saturday at Indian Head Casino were canceled because U.S. Highway 26 is closed and because of worsening air quality from the smoke, according to a news release from the casino. Ticketholders will be eligible for refunds or trading their tickets for upcoming concerts. The casino is operated by the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs.

Approximately 350 people were fighting the fire Friday morning, with new crews continuing to arrive, Epperson said. Fire commanders do not currently have any aircraft working on the fire, he said, but two tanker planes are expected to arrive, possibly Saturday.

Friday’s firefighting efforts were marked by high winds, Epperson said, forcing crews to halt deliberate burnout efforts early in the day.

Highway 26 remains closed in the area of the fire. Peter Murphy, spokesman with the Oregon Department of Transportation, said traffic is currently being detoured through Maupin on highways 216 and 197, adding 29 miles to a Bend-to-Portland trip.

The fire has reached the Deschutes River between Warm Springs and Mecca Flat, but has not jumped the river. Access to the river remains open and no campgrounds have been closed. The Bureau of Land Management is asking river users to avoid camping upstream of White Horse Rapids, and to avoid stopping or walking in newly burned areas.

The fire is believed to have been touched off by sparks from a passing car.

— Bulletin staff reports