UPDATE: Fire crews contain Jordan Creek Fire; Highway 244 reopened after 6 hours
Published 9:00 pm Thursday, August 17, 2023
- A truck-mounted reader board at Hilgard Park, west of La Grande, alerts drivers to the closure of Highway 244 on Thursday, Aug. 17, 2023, due to the Jordan Creek Fire. he blaze started around 2 p.m. after a propane truck crashed near milepost 42.
LA GRANDE — Oregon Highway 244 was reopened in both directions around 8 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 17, after being closed for more than six hours after a propane truck crash sparked a wildfire.
The initial call for the blaze — dubbed the Jordan Creek Fire — was received by the Blue Mountain Interagency Dispatch Center shortly before 2 p.m.
The crash was near milepost 42 on Highway 244, about 6 miles west of where it meets Interstate 84 near Hilgard Junction State Park, according to an Oregon Department of Transportation emergency information release.
The affected portion of Highway 244 — Hilgard-Ukiah Highway — was closed to all traffic and there were no local detour options.
The Oregon Department of Forestry concentrated on the wildland fire, while La Grande Fire Department — who requested mutual aid from the La Grande Rural Fire District — was in charge of the truck fire.
The Blue Mountain Interagency Dispatch Center said the wildfire was contained at 2 acres with a dozer line around it by 6 p.m.
The truck fire was extinguished around 8 p.m., and the La Grande Fire Department turned over the incident to ODF at that time, according to La Grande Fire Department Capt. Jarid Ployhar.
“(The propane) was venting and burning as it excited the tank, so there was no environmental threat,” Ployhar said.
No information about the truck driver has been released as of Friday morning, and ODF said there will be no further updates until an official investigation is carried out.
Local and federal response
Shortly after the call came in on Aug. 17, La Grande Fire Department Deputy Fire Chief Merle Laci said, seven LGFD personnel, a chief officer and an ambulance were dispatched to the scene. La Grande Rural Fire District sent a chief officer, two water tenders and a fire engine.
Craig Gilbert, the Blue Mountain Interagency Dispatch Center assistant center manager, said a helicopter with a bucket, four Oregon Department of Forestry engines, one U.S. Forest Service engine, two dozers and two firefighter overhead personnel were also sent out to the area.
According to Union County Emergency Manager Nick Vora, a hazmat team from Hermiston was called in to help assess the gas leakage from the propane truck.
