Western Wildfires: Evacuated California Residents Return To Survey Ruins of Homes Destroyed By Rocky Fire

August 7,2015

While some 12,000 California residents remained under evacuation orders from the massive Rocky fire, about 800 were allowed to return to their homes Thursday, but many found nothing but charred remains.
"All of it is gone. It's so surreal," an emotional Layna Rivas told the Associated Press. "It looked like a bomb went off everywhere."
Rivas was evacuated from the artist's compound in Lake County, located 100 miles north of San Francisco, on Saturday, but returned to find all seven structures burned to the ground. She had taken her dogs and cats to a friend's house, but could not relocate her eight chickens. When she returned, she found just one roaming amidst the debris.
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"She was nameless. Now her name is Rocky," Rivas said, naming the animal after the fire that took nearly everything she owned.
In total, 43 homes have been leveled by the blaze, and nearly 109 square miles of land have been charred. But firefighters have the inferno nearly half-contained, and officials said more of the evacuated residents will be allowed to return home on Friday.
With California being bone-dry, however, any threat of thunderstorms could bring the threat of dry lightning sparking more fires in the area.
Many other large wildfires are currently burning across the region, and a rundown of several notable infernos can be seen below.

Oregon Interstate Reopened

Interstate 84 in eastern Oregon was closed Wednesday night as the Lime Hill fire surged near the roadway, as well as the town of Huntington, KTBV.com reported. The highway reopened late Thursday afternoon at Exit 216.
The wildfire has burned more than 12,000 acres of land, KBOI-TV said. The blaze affected Interstate 84 between Ontario and Pendleton, Oregon, but this stretch has also reopened, the report added.
Fire crews are worked diligently to protect Huntington, and a High Desert Type 3 Team is in command of the situation, the Vale Bureau of Land Management said in a press release.

Evacuations Around Roosevelt Rescinded

Officials rescinded mandatory evacuation orders for the town of Roosevelt in southern Washington on Wednesday morning, after a  fast-moving wildfire forced residents to flee Tuesday evening, KATU.com reported.  A nearly a 65-mile stretch of Highway 14 remained closed Wednesday, however.
NBC News reported about 300 residents were told to leave after the blaze jumped State Route 14 and moved toward the town. Roosevelt is a small town on the Columbia River, sitting on the state line with Oregon.
(MORE: Officials Warn of Potential Catastrophe This Fire Season)
No injuries have been reported from this fire, and so far, only outbuildings have been burned. NBC News also said a Red Cross evacuation shelter has been opened at a school some 30 miles north of the town.
This season, wildfires have been relentless all over the parched West. In California, fires prompted Gov. Jerry Brown to declare a state of emergency for the entire state and activate the California National Guard to help with disaster recovery.

Foothills Fires

In the foothills of the Cascades in southwestern Oregon, several large fires continue to have the full attention of fire officials.
The Stouts fire is 20-percent contained after burning through nearly 20,000 acres of private and federal timber 16 miles east of Canyonville, the Oregon Department of Forestry said. It started more than a week ago and the cause remains under investigation. No homes have burned, but more than 300 were threatened. Residents have been warned to be ready to evacuate.
The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality reports smoke levels are unhealthy in Medford and Grants Pass, and hazardous in Shady Cove.
Meanwhile, the nearby Cable Crossing fire is 60-percent contained after burning through 1,800 acres of timber and grass 6 miles east of Glide, also in Douglas County. Firefighters have built defense lines all the way around it. The cause remains under investigation. There are more than 1,000 firefighters assigned to the wildfire, along with three single-engine air tankers and 15 helicopters. The cost to date is $2.5 million.
"Crew bosses are hopeful they took the fight out of the fire," Incident Commander Link Smith said in a statement.

Bass Lake Blaze

A wildfire that caused the evacuation of 200 homes in the central California community of Cascadel Woods is 95-percent contained. All evacuation orders have been lifted as more than 600 personnel work mop-up duty on the blaze.
Authorities say a boy acknowledged starting the fire near Bass Lake by playing with a lighter to burn pine needles. The fire, which has been burning for several days, has grown to more than 5,700 acres.
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.