Evacuations

The Country Meadow Fire near Kennewick has burned 1,700 acres and triggered state fire mobilization. Evacuation levels have been downgraded from Level 3 to Level 2 as crews achieve 20% containment.

With wildfire evacuations already occurring in the Columbia Gorge and Southern Oregon, officials are renewing calls for residents to understand Oregon's three-level evacuation system and have a plan before fire threatens their community.

With early-season fire activity already triggering evacuation notices in the Pacific Northwest, Oregon and Idaho emergency officials are urging residents to build evacuation plans, prepare go-bags, and register for emergency alerts now.

Evacuation notices were issued near Horsethief Lake State Park in Washington and near Oakley, Idaho as multiple wildfire incidents flared across the Pacific Northwest this week.

Oregon's Wildfire Awareness Month kicks into high gear as officials urge residents to understand the three-level Be Ready/Be Set/Go Now evacuation system, build go-bags, sign up for county alerts, and review their wildfire insurance coverage.

Fast-moving fires near Biggs Junction in Oregon and Kennewick in Washington temporarily closed Interstate 84 and triggered evacuation notices along the Columbia Gorge in late May.

The Seven Cabins Fire in Lincoln County, New Mexico, has burned more than 17,000 acres after being sparked by a fatal medical plane crash. GO-level evacuations remain in effect for rural areas north of the Capitan Mountains.

Oregon's three-tiered wildfire evacuation system — Level 1, 2, and 3 — is designed to give residents maximum warning time, but only works if people understand what each level means and what to do.

Wildfire evacuations can happen with minutes of warning — families who have done the preparation work in advance are the ones who escape safely, while those who wait often don't make it out in time.