Sujena Soumyanath reports for The Oregonian on August 5, 2024
A 400-acre grass fire that prompted evacuation orders in Antelope is still burning, Wasco County spokesperson Stephanie Krell said.
The Bennett Road fire started four miles northeast of the tiny Oregon town Sunday evening and led to a Level 3 “Go Now!” evacuation order, according to the Wasco County Sheriff’s Office. The evacuation order for Antelope was still in place as of Monday morning. No containment numbers are available yet, Krell said.
“Crews are still there,” she said. “We are trending in a good direction, though.”
The Shaniko Schoolhouse in the nearby town of Shaniko is open as a Red Cross shelter for evacuees, the sheriff’s office reported.
News of the fire comes as Oregon faces a particularly difficult wildfire season, with more than 1 million acres of the state currently burning, according to the Northwest Interagency Coordination Center.
Around the same time the Bennett Road fire started, a storm with severe thunderstorms and lightning caused a power outage in the area, said Traci Brock, Member Services Manager for Wasco Electric Cooperative.
Antelope, Shaniko, Ashwood, the unincorporated community of Clarno and a Young Life camp near Antelope lost power Sunday, according to the Wasco County Sheriff’s Office.
Power was restored to Antelope, Shaniko and Ashwood around 10 p.m., but Clairno and the Young Life camp were still without power as of Monday morning, Brock said.
Antelope, which has fewer than 100 residents and is about 125 miles east of Portland, gained state and national attention in the 1980s when Indian guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh established a commune on the outskirts of the town. The commune later took over Antelope’s government.
City of Antelope downgrades evacuation levels for ongoing Bennett Fire (video): msn.com
Today, the Rajneesh commune has been replaces by the Young Life camp, known as Washington Family Ranch. The camp is not part of the wildfire evacuation orders, Krell said.
“There is no risk to the Washington Family Ranch at this time,” she said.
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