Oregon Gov. Kate Brown has declared a state of emergency aimed at improving response to active and imminent wildfires across the state, and has invoked the state鈥檚 Emergency Conflagration Act late Wednesday morning to aid in response to a growing fire east of Mount Hood.
These steps comes after a fire in Central Oregon prompted evacuations and the closure of an airport in Redmond Tuesday, and a separate fire in Eastern Oregon put up to 100 residents of Wasco County under 鈥済o-now鈥� evacuation orders.
Crippling heat, which has abated in Northwest Oregon but continues to stifle much of the state, has exacerbated a drought emergency across much of the state at a time when forecasts call for windy conditions and dry thunderstorms ahead.
鈥淥regon is still recovering from the devastation of last year鈥檚 wildfires, which resulted in nine Oregonians losing their lives and thousands more losing their homes,鈥� Brown said in a statement issued to the media. 鈥淲ith wildfires already sparking this year, it is imperative that we act now to prevent further loss鈥攐f life, property, business, and our natural resources.鈥�
The Redmond brush fire prompted Redmond firefighters to ask occupants of roughly 325 residential and commercial structures to evacuate on Tuesday, and threatened the personal property of homeless campers in the area, the .
In Wasco County, the wildfire east of Dufur grew to 10,000 acres overnight, according to the Oregon Department of Forestry. It was not clear as of Wednesday morning whether additional people would be evacuated, beyond the 100 or so who were asked to leave Tuesday afternoon.
That fire, dubbed the 鈥淲rentham Market Fire,鈥� prompted Brown鈥檚 invocation of the Oregon Emergency Conflagration Act, which allows the state fire marshal to mobilize firefighters and equipment from other jurisdictions.
Brown鈥檚 broader state of emergency declaration is aimed at speeding the state鈥檚 overall wildfire response. If state and national resources are limited, the Oregon National Guard will also assist with firefighting, the governor鈥檚 office said.
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