JOHN DAY — A monster of a wildfire escaped its cage Friday, stalking homeowners and firefighters on its way to threatening the rural cities of John Day and Canyon City.
More than 100 homes in the canyons and plateaus around this eastern Oregon community were evacuated Friday as the Canyon Creek Complex went on its rampage. The fire, sending up a towering plume that blocked the sun, is expected to burn out of control for days.
That’s because major fires across the Northwest have left the supply line empty of more crews.
The Canyon Creek Complex was but one of 12 large fires scorching about 140,000 acres across Oregon on Friday, with the largest burning near Warm Springs in central Oregon. Those blazes, combined with nine in Washington ravaging about 72,000 acres, made the two states the nation’s top priority, said Carol Connolly, a spokeswoman for the Northwest Interagency Coordination Center.