WARM SPRINGS, OR -- A wildfire on the Warm Springs Reservation forced evacuations of several homes and closed Highway 26 for more than six hours, Wednesday night.
The Oregon Department of Transportation detoured drivers around the fire area, through Maupin. A shelter was set up by the Red Cross inside the Warm Springs Community Center, to assist those evacuated. Residents were reportedly allowed back in their homes around 11:30 p.m., and ODOT reopened the highway at about midnight.
Officials believe the County Line 2 Fire started when a trailer lost a tire, and scraped its axle on the roadway, sending a series of sparks into dry brush along the side of the highway.
As of Wednesday night, it was estimated at about 5,000 acres.
Photo courtesy of KWSO, Warm Springs
