(Glenwood, NM, June 29, 2026) — The very hot, dry, windy weather that affected much of the state, including all of the Gila National Forest, Saturday and Sunday, contributed to increased fire activity on the Sacaton Fire. During a reconnaissance flight Monday, the Glenwood Ranger District fire management officer observed a spot fire had become established about 0.5 miles northeast of the main fire. Combined, the main and spot fires are approximately 372 acres.

Fire behavior is being driven by weather, topography, and fuels. Where the fire is burning among numerous dead standing and down trees from the 2012 Whitewater-Baldy Fire, it is backing downslope or growing outward on its sides. Where the fire encounters pockets of vegetation not burned in 2012, it is making some uphill runs. The smoke being generated during periods of moderate fire behavior is widely visible: from the Gila Cliff Dwellings to the east, from Lordsburg to the south, along U.S. Route 180 to the west, and from Quemado to the north.

Numerous extreme hazards to ground and aerial firefighters exist, including extremely steep, rugged terrain; heavy dead and down fuels; overhead snags and six-hour ground evacuation times.  Direct and indirect tactics are being used by firefighters. Direct tactics are being considered where fire is threatening identified values, such as the Mogollon Baldy Lookout, if the risks to firefighters’ safety can be adequately mitigated and if the probability of success is high. The immediate values at risk do not include private property.

No significant rain is predicted this week. Smoke, and occasionally flames, will continue to be visible from great distances in all directions.

The lightning-caused Sacaton Fire was detected Sunday, June 21, in the Gila Wilderness. It is currently about 3.5 miles west of the Mogollon Baldy Lookout and approximately 12 miles east of the community of Pleasanton.

Stay informed about wildfire activity through the forest’s website and Facebook page, InciWeb, New Mexico Fire Information or WildFireSA.

About the Forest Service: The Forest Service has, for more than 100 years, brought people and communities together to answer the call of conservation. Grounded in world-class science and technology — and rooted in communities — the Forest Service connects people to nature and to each other. The Forest Service cares for shared natural resources in ways that promote lasting economic, ecological, and social vitality. The agency manages 193 million acres of public land, provides assistance to state and private landowners and maintains the largest wildland fire and forestry research organizations in the world. The Forest Service also has either a direct or indirect role in stewardship of about 900 million forested acres within the U.S., of which over 130 million acres are urban forests where most Americans live.

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The Oregon Supreme Court has agreed to hear arguments in the billion dollar class action lawsuit between survivors of four 2020 Labor Day Fires and PacifiCorp.

The state’s high court will hear arguments at 1:30 p.m. on Nov. 3 in Salem, in a case with billions on the line for thousands of victims impacted by one of the worst disasters in state history.

The review represents a win for wildfire survivors, many of whom live in the Santiam Canyon and lost everything in the fires, and who stood to lose billions in jury awards following an April decision by the Oregon Court of Appeals.

How did we get here?

In June 2023, a Multnomah County jury found PacifiCorp at fault for causing the Santiam, Echo Mountain, 242 and South Obenchain fires and liable to a class of roughly 2,000 victims.

In the years since the verdict, juries have awarded more than $1.2 billion to 189 wildfire survivors, over the course of 18 “mini trials” designed to determine awards to fire victims.

On April 8, the Oregon Court of Appeals ruled the 2023 verdict was flawed, writing that instructions to the jury were “prejudicial to PacifiCorp.”

The appeals court reversed and remanded the case, which would have wiped out all awards and previous legal decisions.

Lawyers for the wildfire victims filed an appeal to the Oregon Supreme Court, also in April, and the high court granted certiorari on June 25.

The timeline for Oregon’s high court hearing the case appears swifter than normal, perhaps representing the need to bring some resolution for a case that’s been ongoing for five years.  

“The thousands of Oregonians whose homes PacifiCorp burned are grateful that the Oregon Supreme Court will hear their case quickly,” lead council for the wildfire victims said in a statement.

PacifiCorp issued a statement saying they expected the court of appeals decision to be upheld.

“We respect the Oregon Supreme Court’s decision to review the case and will continue to participate fully in the process, presenting our position through the Court’s established briefing schedule,” a statement from PacifiCorp said. “We look forward to the Court’s consideration of the key issues and to the Court affirming the unanimous Oregon Court of Appeals decision.”

What will the court decide?

In reversing the original verdict, the Court of Appeals ruled that a set of instructions given to the jury, in the 2023 case, was in error and prejudicial to PacifiCorp.

The offending instruction, the ruling said, centered on the trial court telling the jury that it could “assume that the evidence at the trial applies to all class members.”

“We conclude … that instruction was legally erroneous, because certain evidence at trial, particularly related to causation, did not necessarily apply to every class member,” the appeals court wrote.

Lawyers for the plaintiffs argued that “the challenged instruction was appropriate” and that the Court of Appeals ruling “rests on a misinterpretation that no party held at trial and no juror adopted,” they wrote in their appeal to the Supreme Court.  

In a news release announcing it would take up the case, the Supreme Court said it would examine the jury instructions and ruling by the appeals court.

Zach Urness has been an outdoors reporter in Oregon for 18 years and is host of the Explore Oregon Podcast. He can be reached at zurness@StatesmanJournal.com or 503-399-6801. Find him on X at @ZachsORoutdoors and BlueSky at oregonoutdoors.bsky.social

SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — A part-time wildland firefighter is asking Utah leaders for more job protections after he said he was told he would lose his full-time job for accepting a call to respond to the Iron and Cherry fires.

Israel Justice has worked as a part-time wildland firefighter for 22 years. For the past seven years, he has also worked full time for an Ogden-based mechanical company.

Justice said his employer had previously accommodated the emergency nature of wildfire deployments, but that recently changed.

“This job requires, you know, last-minute, kind-of show-up-and-go,” Justice said. “They call you, and you have to leave immediately and respond to these incidents.”

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Justice is currently assigned to the fire line. He said he does not know whether he will have a job to return to when his assignment ends.

“They were recently bought out by a larger corporation, and they’re not willing to work under the same terms we had before, where I would be free to leave and come back,” Justice said.

2News reached out to the company to ask about its unpaid leave policy, what has changed and whether Justice will have a job to return to. The company did not respond.

Justice said the uncertainty has forced him to choose between job security and answering a critical call for help.

“I don’t believe it’s asking much that these companies make a small sacrifice so we can come out here and serve,” he said.

Justice said he wants wildland firefighters to receive employment protections similar to those provided to National Guard members and certain volunteers.

“We’re out here doing the same job, putting our lives on the line to help others,” Justice said. “We’re out here serving and doing our part for the country, and all I ask is that we get a little protection so that when we get back home, we know we’ll still have a job and can continue to care for our families.”

Justice said the pressure of fighting a wildfire while not knowing whether he will be able to support his family when he returns makes an already dangerous job even more difficult.

He has written to Gov. Spencer Cox and Rep. Blake Moore asking for stronger employment protections for wildland firefighters and informing them of his situation. He said he has not heard back.

Rep. Moore provided the following statement:

“Our office hasn’t heard from this constituent about his situation, but we would encourage employers where they can to allow their employees to go fight the fires. I’m grateful to the many firefighters and first responders working to keep our communities safe, and I’m praying for their safety during this time.”

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