Juniper Fire quickly stopped at 628 acres

At about 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 10 a report of a vehicle fire quickly turned into a fast-growing brushfire on Juniper Butte alongside U.S. Highway 97 milepost 106.

The fire quickly grew to 628 acres, but has been stopped and is 100% contained. Crews will remain in the area mopping up, supporting containment lines and hitting hotspots.

Initially, Level 3 evacuations were in place for homes on Juniper Butte. As of 7:27 p.m. Wednesday all evacuation orders have been downgraded to Level 1, Be Ready. No structures were lost in the fire.

Pacific Power birefly turned off electricity to much of the surrounding area due to the fire for approximately three hours. Approximately 1,882 people were without power.

U.S. 97 was also closed to all traffic from milepost 112 to the south at the Crooked River Gorge and milepost 106 to the north at Juniper Butte for about seven hours.

The two individuals in the vehicle which was engulfed in the fire were uninjured.

Fire crews from Jefferson County Fire and EMS, BLM Fire, Crooked River Fire, COIDC Fire units responded, along with two structural task forces and air units including two helicopters and a scooper that drew water from Lake Billy Chinook.