The largest active wildfire in the U.S. is chewing through Eastern Oregon. A major portion of Oregon I-84 is closed indefinitely. The Durkee Fire, which broke out July 17, has burned 419 square miles as of this morning. I-84 is closed in both directions between Pendleton and Ontario, Oregon.
Oregon I-84 closed—add three-and-a-half hours to your plans
The 167-mile stretch is Oregon’s northernmost major East-West route, and the closure is more than inconveniencing thousands of rigs. When open, the I-84 route takes drivers four hours at highway speed. Oregon Department of Transportation officials suggest drivers now use Oregon Highway 20 as an alternative.
The Highway 20 routing will add considerable time and distance. Google Maps automated suggestion on routing from Pendleton to Ontario via Oregon 20 carries rigs 386 miles—in nearly seven-and-a-half hours. The routing suggests going west from Pendleton, to Highway 19, then south to John Day. From there, drivers should take Highway 395 south to Oregon 20, then east to Ontario.
Fire services officials have no suggested time as to when this massive fire will be brought under control. Lightning and strong winds last night were only slightly mitigated by some rain. I-84 is closed, and looks to stay that way for quite some time.
For the latest updates from ODOT, click here.
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We are heading north to Alberta and BC in about 2 weeks and then back to southern Nevada after stopping in the Seattle area to see our daughter and her family.
Between the Canadian fires including Jasper, and the Washington/Oregon fires, this trip will certainly require being nimble for our routing plans. I-84 is typical and hopefully in 6-8 weeks it is opened up again.
Thank you from the Proofs for these fire updates in RVT.
Yes, thanks for the updates. We’re headed north into Oregon , then probably further north into the Seattle area to see my son who’s remote working in that area. After that the fires may determine which dirrection to head off too. Be safe in the Alberta and BC areas and elsewhere Cancel and family.
Thank you, Russ and Tina! 🙂 So sad. 🙁 The NW is dry and burning. Meanwhile here in the SE we are experiencing the wettest July that I can recall, going back to ’66 or ’67 (don’t recall earlier summers). Too bad a pipeline isn’t available to ship our excess water to the NW and help with the fire fighting. 🙁 Thanks again, have a great day, safe travels, and safe stays! 🙂