A wildfire burns near the Rye Valley exit on Interstate 84 about 36 miles southeast of Baker City on June 10, 2025. (Marcus Johnson, Vale District BLM/Contributed Photo)

A wildfire reported Tuesday evening, June 10, burned about 150 acres just east of Interstate 84 near the Rye Valley exit, about 36 miles southeast of Baker City.

The Huntington Rural Fire District and Burnt River Rural Fire Protection Association were the first agencies to respond, said Larisa Bogardus, public information officer for the BLM’s Vale District.

The Vale District is assisting the Burnt River RFPA Wednesday, Bogardus said.

The fire was contained on Wednesday.

The fire didn’t affect traffic on the freeway.

One resident was evacuated with help from an Oregon State Police trooper, said Ashley McClay, public information officer for the Baker County Sheriff’s Office.

The cause of the fire hasn’t been determined, but there were many lightning strikes in the area Tuesday evening as thunderstorms passed through, Bogardus said.

There was only scattered rain with the storms.

Bert Siddoway of the Burnt River Rural Fire Protection Association said firefighters protected Earl Langley’s home and outbuildings, which are near the freeway.

Siddoway said wind gusts propelled the fire initially, but later calmed and actually blew the flames in a favorable direction, into a rockslide.

He said the fire behavior was “pretty impressive” for the second week of June, reflecting the unusually dry spring.

Siddoway said burning conditions are three weeks to a month ahead of usual.

A weather station at the Rye Valley exit recorded a peak wind gust of 40 mph at 6:54 p.m. on Tuesday, and gusts over 30 mph over the next hour or so. The station doesn’t include a rain gauge.

A weather station near the Weatherby rest area, about 5 miles north of Rye Valley, recorded wind gusts as high as 41 mph between 7 p.m. and 8 p.m. Tuesday. That station also lacks a rain gauge.

Another weather station, near Lookout Mountain Road several miles north of Rye Valley, recorded a 55 mph gust at 7:52 p.m. Tuesday. The station, which does have a rain gauge, didn’t record any rainfall.

The peak gust at the Baker City Airport was 54 mph at 7:13 p.m.

The fire was reported at 7:45 p.m., according to the Baker County Sheriff’s Office dispatch log.

The Durkee Fire, sparked by lightning in July 2024, burned through the area, although that fire was primarily west of the freeway in the Rye Valley area.

New lightning fires

The Blue Mountain Interagency Dispatch Center reported three new small fires Wednesday morning. Firefighters responded to all three blazes.

• Near Forest Road 100, north of Union Creek Road north of Phillips Reservoir, one-tenth of an acre.

• Allen Canyon Road, 4 miles northwest of Lostine, one-tenth of an acre.

• Near Trail Creek Road, south of Baker City and west of Dooley Mountain Highway, no size listed.