Substation Fire 78K Acres; 92 Percent Contained On Monday

THE DALLES, OR — The Substation Fire in north-central Oregon is 92 percent contained and with more accurate mapping of the fire perimeter officials have reduced acreage for the second day in a row to 78,425 acres.

Fire officials said minimal fire behavior was observed Sunday, but with the hot and dry weather there is still smoldering in the heavy fuels along the Deschuttes River and 8 Mile Canyon. All evacuation levels were reduced Sunday morning by the Sherman County Sheriff's Office to a Level 1 (Get Ready to Evacuate). All roads are currently open and drivers can check for current travel conditions in Oregon here.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

On Wednesday, one man was killed by the fire while trying to cut a fire line. Officials identified the man as 64-year-old John Ruby.

The fire destroyed four homes and damaged four others, fire officials said. The fire also destroyed 48 outbuildings.

A GoFundMe account has been created to help fire victims with groceries and transportation. A second GoFundMe account has been set up to feed a herd of cattle that survived the fire.

A tipline has been established for anyone who saw anything suspicious on Highway 197 between Milepost 1 and Milepost 3 on July 17. The tipline number is 800-452-7888.

On Thursday, the Substation Fire was named the Number One fire in the nation, Oregon Fire Marshal officials said. Gov. Kate Brown issued a State of Emergency declaration last week, which came as a result of the increasing numbers of fires spread across the state.

Follow all the latest updates on Facebook at Substation Fire 2018 - Fire Information.

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Image via Substation Fire 2018 - Fire Information