Sections of I-84 closed immediately with fire ‘advancing rapidly’ toward interstate

Idaho residents looking to take Interstate 84 into Oregon will need to find an alternate route.

Officials blocked off parts of the highway Tuesday as a wildfire began edging toward the roadway.

The Oregon Department of Transportation closed all lanes of I-84 between Baker City’s Exit 302 and Ontario’s Exit 374 at about 11 a.m., with officials saying they expect it to remain closed for the rest of the day.

The Durkee Fire has begun “advancing rapidly toward the highway” near the Farewell Bend State Recreation Area in Huntington, the department said in a news release.

“Avoid the area and delay your travel plans or consider alternative routes using major highways,” the Oregon department said. “Do not rely on GPS for directions or attempt to detour using county or forest roads, as these are not suitable for interstate traffic and may be affected by ongoing fire activity.”

A longer stretch of I-84, from Pendleton to Ontario, will close between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m. through Friday.

Jessica Reed, a public information officer with the Durkee Fire management team, said officials were closing the roads at night to allow fire teams to begin backburning that area.

“They’re lighting consumable fuel in order to kind of beat the fire to where it’s burning, and that will then slow the fire behavior and slow that fire growth,” Reed said. “They’re trying to get ahead of where the fire is going.”

Reed said the situation has been changing quickly and asked people to check regularly for road updates.

“We have some dynamic weather today and really dynamic weather tomorrow,” Reed said. “We can’t plan all of the closures. The closure that just came out, that obviously wasn’t planned.”

People can visit TripCheck.com or the Durkee Fire Facebook page for more information.

The Durkee Fire, which sits 5 miles southwest of Durkee, Oregon, has burned 239,255 acres since it began last Wednesday, according to the Facebook page. Officials said it was likely caused by lightning.

More than 600 people from four different task forces are working to control it, but 0% was contained as of Tuesday morning.