BELLINGHAM, Wash. — Firefighters in the West are scrambling as new wildfires threaten communities in Oregon, California and Washington, with at least one Oregon fire so large that it is creating its own weather.
Interstate 84 in eastern Oregon was closed in both directions Tuesday between Ontario and Baker City as flames from the Durkee Fire advanced toward the roadway in multiple locations. On Tuesday afternoon, the Oregon Department of Transportation also closed the eastbound lanes of I-84 from Pendleton to Baker City.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency on Monday night authorized the use of federal funds to help with firefighting costs for the lightning-caused blaze, which had scorched nearly 375 square miles (971 square kilometers) as of Tuesday afternoon.
The Durkee Fire was threatening homes in and around the communities of Durkee, Huntington and Rye Valley, as well as the interstate, cell towers and power infrastructure in the area.
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Stephen Parker, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Boise, Idaho, said the Durkee Fire showed such extreme fire behavior on Saturday, Sunday and Monday that it began creating its own weather system with a “pyrocumulus cloud.”
“That can happen when a fire becomes plume-dominated,” Parker said. “It’s like a thunderstorm on top of the fire, generated by the heat of the fire.”
The pyrocumulus cloud allows the smoke and ash from the fire to travel much higher in the air than it would typically go, he said. If there is enough moisture in the air above the fire, the pyrocumulus cloud can also generate rain and lightning, potentially causing new fire starts in the region.
There were lightning strikes in the region on Monday night, but there were also other thunderstorms in the area, making it impossible to tell which weather system was responsible for the storm, Parker said.
Tuesday morning was free of pyrocumulus clouds, Parker said, but they tend to form later in the day.
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“I don’t see any pyrocumulus developing yet today. But I would not be surprised if we got a fourth day out of it,” he said.
Several new fires ignited in that area Monday because of severe weather that included lightning and strong wind gusts, the Baker County Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post.
“Within minutes of the first lightning strikes, reports then came in of visible flames,” the post read.
Multiple fires have scorched more than 1,093 square miles (2,830 square kilometers) in Oregon, with nearly 180 square miles (466 square kilometers) torched in the past 24 hours, authorities said.
Parts of the West have also been in the grip of a heat wave, including record-breaking triple-digits temperatures, for days.
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A fire in the Columbia River Gorge that started late Monday forced urgent evacuations around the town of Mosier, Oregon, and the entire town of about 400 people was ordered to be ready to leave at a moment’s notice on Tuesday.
In central Washington, a fire that sparked Monday near Natches prompted mandatory evacuations while another near Bickelton also forced evacuations and threatened a natural gas plant.
“This is shaping up to be another monster fire year in the Pacific Northwest, and it’s just mid-July,” Ed Hiatt, Pacific Northwest Assistant Fire Director for Operations at the U.S. Forest Service, said Tuesday in a news release.
Millions of acres of national forest lands across Oregon and Washington are continuing to see record- breaking dry timber conditions on both sides of the Cascade Mountains with no “wetting” rains for more than six weeks in areas from far southern Oregon to the eastern part of the state and north into central Washington, according to the news release.
Fire crews from across the country were coming to the region to help, Hiatt said.
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Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek earlier this month declared an “extended state of emergency” until October because of the increased risk of wildfires.
“I urge all Oregonians to follow the instructions and evacuation levels issued by emergency officials,” she said at the time, while also urging people to subscribe to emergency alerts, to have an evacuation plan, prepare a go-kit, and stay aware of changing conditions.
Near the California-Nevada border, a series of lightning-sparked wildfires in the Sierra forced the evacuation of a recreation area, closed a state highway and was threatening structures Tuesday in several communities southwest of Portola, which is about 50 miles (80 km) northwest of Reno.
Nearly 200 children and staff at a summer camp near Portola voluntarily evacuated on buses back to their homes Sunday night in the Reno-Sparks area.
Heat waves and historic drought tied to climate change have made wildfires more challenging to fight in the American West. Scientists have said climate change has made the region much warmer and drier in the past 30 years and will continue to make the weather more extreme, and wildfires more frequent and destructive.
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Associated Press writers Rebecca Boone in Boise, Idaho, and Scott Sonner in Reno, Nevada, contributed to this story.
The University of Oregon’s Board of Trustees voted Tuesday to approve a $1.55 billion operating budget for the next fiscal year.
But they asked university leadership to return with an amended proposal by Dec. 15, when more details about future budget cuts will be known.
FILE — The Board of Trustees recently approved next year’s budget for the University of Oregon. The vote comes several weeks after the school’s president announced that he wants the university to reduce its annual budget as revenues and out-of-state enrollment decline.
Brian Bull / KLCC
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The vote comes several weeks after University of Oregon President Karl Scholz announced that he wants the school to reduce its annual budget by around $65 million.
At a trustees meeting Monday, Scholz said the estimated budget shortfall for next year is just around $23 million. But he said out-of-state enrollment is below historical norms for the second year in a row, and it’s unlikely to bounce back.
“One year can be an aberration. Two years is a pattern,” said Scholz. “And I believe we have to treat it as a new reality.”
Scholz said in May that discussions about the budget would happen over a six-month period. He said no final decisions about cuts would be made over this summer.
On Monday, UO Senate President Dyana Mason told trustees that the Senate had approved a new process to allow for community feedback in the cost-cutting process.
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Mason said the provost will work with the deans on budget proposals, finding “clear rationale” for why programs are considered for elimination.
The provost would then bring those proposals to the Senate Committee for Academic Modifications—which includes staff, faculty and students—for feedback.
Once the plans are nearly finalized, the Senate could then hold a period for public comment.
Mason told trustees that a six-month timeline is better than the three months that frustrated some staff last year, but she recommended taking however much time is necessary.
“The worst situation would be rushing forward to make decisions without appropriate evidence, data, feedback from the people that are most in the know about the impact on our students,” said Mason.
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UO’s Board of Trustees Chair Steve Holwerda said that every week that university delays the decisions could cost them millions of dollars.
Nathan Wilk is a reporter with the KLCC newsroom.This story comes to you from the Northwest News Network, a collaboration between public media organizations in Oregon and Washington.
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Oregon’s juvenile justice system has been reshaped in recent years by a sweeping reform law that changed how the state handles minors accused of serious crimes.
Senate Bill 1008, which took effect in 2020, ended automatic transfers of juveniles into adult court and eliminated life without parole sentences for juveniles. The law also created “second-look” hearings and established parole eligibility after 15 years for certain offenders who committed crimes before turning 18.
To help explain the law and its impact, KVAL’s Frannie Pedersen put together a timeline video tracing the history of Senate Bill 1008, from the passage of Measure 11 in 1994 to the reforms that later reshaped Oregon’s juvenile justice system.
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The video breaks down how the law changed, why lawmakers pushed for reform, and how SB 1008 continues to influence Oregon’s justice system today. Viewers can watch the full video for a detailed timeline and explanation of the changes.
PORTLAND, Ore. — A New Jersey man was sentenced to federal prison last Friday for conspiring to distribute fentanyl, announced U.S. Attorney Scott E. Bradford for the District of Oregon.
Mark T. Eager, 34, was sentenced to 135 months in federal prison and five years of supervised release.
“This defendant showed a blatant disregard for human life by trafficking fentanyl across the United States,” said U.S. Attorney Bradford. “My office will continue to pursue those who profit from poisoning our communities, and we will use every available resource and partnership to combat fentanyl trafficking and keep Oregonians safe.”
“This investigation brought together law enforcement agencies from across the nation,” said Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Seattle acting Special Agent in Charge April Miller. “Homeland Security Investigations special agents from Portland, Newark, and Houston contributed to the case, along with the Portland Police Bureau and HIDTA HIT officers, who were instrumental in identifying Eager. His 11-year sentence sends a clear message: no matter where you are in the country or the world, if you attempt to sell narcotics online to Americans, we will find you.”
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“Fentanyl trafficking poses a grave threat to communities across the United States, and Homeland Security Investigations is committed to working with our partners to disrupt and dismantle the criminal networks responsible,” said HSI Houston Special Agent in Charge Lucia Cabral-DeArmas. “This case demonstrates the power of interagency collaboration under the Homeland Security Task Force initiative, leveraging resources from across the country to hold traffickers accountable and protect the American people. We will continue to pursue those who endanger lives through the distribution of dangerous synthetic opioids, and we remain steadfast in our mission to safeguard our communities from the violence and instability caused by transnational criminal organizations.”
“By following this offender’s digital trail, Homeland Security Investigations and our law enforcement partners nationwide executed federal search warrants, dismantled an active dark web fentanyl packaging operation and recovered deadly amounts of fentanyl, thousands of dollars in cryptocurrency, and a trove of electronic devices and packaging materials,” said HSI Newark Acting Special Agent in Charge Spiros Karabinas. “This case is a powerful example of how coordinated, data-driven investigations can disrupt dangerous networks and help protect our communities from lethal synthetic opioids.”
According to court documents, from November 2023 through June 2024, Eager and his co-conspirator sold fentanyl on the Dark Net and Telegram. Eager operated as the vendor WRSEH10 and marketed the fentanyl as “China White Synthetic Heroin.”
In June 2024, HSI agents executed search warrants on two residences associated with Eager in Kearny, New Jersey, and seized over 360 grams of powdered fentanyl, counterfeit M30 pills, drug ledgers, cellular phones, two computers, and drug packaging consistent with three deliveries that were sent to Oregon.
On September 4, 2024, a federal grand jury in Portland returned a four-count indictment charging Eager with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl and distribution of fentanyl.
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On February 4, 2026, Eager pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl.
HSI Portland and HSI Houston investigated this case with assistance from HSI Newark, the Portland Police Bureau (PPB) and the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Interdiction Task Force (HIT). Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott Kerin prosecuted the case. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in New Jersey assisted the U.S. Attorney’s in Oregon in obtaining the search warrants that were executed in Kearny.
