The South Valley Fire was a human-caused

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 ...

Wasco County Wasco County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the population was 25,213. Its county seat is The Dalles. The county is named for a local tribe of Native Americans, the Wasco, a Chinook tribe ...

near Dufur in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

. The fire was one of three fires near Dufur, specifically the Long Hollow Fire and the contained

Substation Fire The Substation Fire was a wildfire in the U.S. state of Oregon near The Dalles. The fire was first reported on July 17, 2018, and had burned . Incidents The Substation Fire was reported, burning on private land, in the late afternoon on July ...

. The South Valley Fire burned . It caused the evacuation of 500 people and threatened 200 homes. It impacted recreational activities along the Deschutes River.

Events

The fire started around 1:30 p.m. on August 1, 2018, near Dufur in

Wasco County, Oregon Wasco County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the population was 25,213. Its county seat is The Dalles. The county is named for a local tribe of Native Americans, the Wasco, a Chinook tribe ...

. Firefighters determined it was likely started by humans. Due to high winds and fueled by dry grass, fields, and trees, the fire grew fast, burning almost by the evening. Level three (go now) evacuations were put in place, and Governor

Kate Brown Katherine Brown (born June 21, 1960) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 38th governor of Oregon from 2015 to 2023. A member of the Democratic Party, she served three terms as the state representative from the 13th distr ...

call into action the emergency conflagration act as a result of the fire, sending resources. Highway 197 was closed. The Bureau of Land Management issued an evacuation for areas along the

Deschutes River The Deschutes River ( ) in central Oregon is a major tributary of the Columbia River. The river provides much of the drainage on the eastern side of the Cascade Range in Oregon, gathering many of the tributaries that descend from the drier, easte ...

, specifically from Sandy Beach to Macks Canyon. By the evening of August 1, the fire had burned an estimated . The next day, it had grown exponentially to with 400 people evacuated. A historic barn, built in 1906, was burned by the fire. Highway 197 reopened the next day, Thursday, August 2, 2018. The fire was contained August 9, 2018.

Impact

The South Valley Fire was one of three fires to have burned in the area, adding to the heavy smoke and evacuations already in place, particularly around the community of Dufur. The fire also impacted recreational activities along the Deschutes River.

Evacuations

The following areas were under mandatory evacuation by August 1: * 82000 block of Rail Hollow Road to the forest boundary * All of Winslow Road and Shell Rock Road * South of the above zone all the way south to Friend Road * Dufur Gap Road * Hix Road to Kingsley Road * Hwy 197 to forest boundary * Tygh Ridge Road * The Deschutes River from Sandy Beach to Macks Canyon

References

2018 Oregon wildfires August 2018 in the United States {{Oregon-stub