The Graham Fire was a

wildfire A wildfire, forest fire, or a bushfire is an unplanned and uncontrolled fire in an area of Combustibility and flammability, combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identified as a ...

four miles south of the

Metolius River The Metolius River (pronounced ''muh TOLL ee us'') is a tributary of the Deschutes River in Central Oregon, United States. The river flows north from springs near Black Butte, then turns sharply east, descending through a series of gorges befo ...

near Culver, Oregon. The fire was caused by a lightning strike and was first reported on June 21, 2018. The fire is one of 70 started over a two-day period of dry conditions and heavy winds in Central Oregon. The fire was contained on July 4 at a size of .

Events

The Graham Fire was reported on the afternoon of June 21, 2018 south of the

near Culver, Oregon. The fire was started by a

lightning strike A lightning strike or lightning bolt is a lightning event in which an electric discharge takes place between the atmosphere and the ground. Most originate in a cumulonimbus cloud and terminate on the ground, called cloud-to-ground (CG) lightning ...

and was fueled by brush, timber and grass, primarily burning private lands. By Saturday, June 23, the fire had reached , with fire crews focusing on burnout efforts to contain the fire. Two homes and five out buildings were destroyed. The Graham Fire was contained on June 27 and burned a total of .

Impact

The Graham Fire burned private lands protected by the Oregon Department of Forestry and Lake Chinook Fire and Rescue, as well as public lands owned by the

Bureau of Land Management The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior responsible for administering federal lands, U.S. federal lands. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the BLM oversees more than of land, or one ...

. In total, two homes and five outbuildings were destroyed.

Evacuations

The subdivision of Three Rivers was evacuated on June 21 due to extreme fire conditions threatening homes.

References

June 2018 in the United States Jefferson County, Oregon 2018 Oregon wildfires {{Wildfire-stub