DUFUR, OR -- A new wildfire is growing quickly with strong winds, in Wasco County. The South Valley Fire was first spotted Wednesday, and spread five to seven miles over a four hour period. As of Thursday morning, it's estimated at 15,000 acres and just 5% contained. Governor Kate Brown Wednesday night declared a conflagration, clearing the way for more resources to attack the blaze.
Stefan Meyer, with the Oregon Fire Marshals Office, says, "The Oregon State Fire Marshal's Office has been deployed to this fire. We brought an Incident Management Team, as well as three task forces that came in last night. We have three more task forces that are on the way; those are coming from several counties throughout our state." He adds, "We are going to be focused on saving structures that are in the line of the fire, as well as life safety, out here."