Oregon's longest-running active wildfire has been burning for two months
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – Oregon's longest-running active wildfire has been burning for nearly two months despite being 100% contained.
The Lone Rock Fire first sparked in Gilliam County on July 13 and has since grown to more than 137,200 acres – making it one of Oregon’s three ongoing megafires.
A megafire, according to the U.S. Interagency Fire Center, is a wildfire that reaches a size of at least 100,000 acres. In 2024, five wildfires met this classification: the Cow Valley, Durkee, Falls, Lone Rock, and Monkey Creek fires.
So far, only the Cow Valley and Falls fires have been resolved.
Before the Lone Rock Fire became the longest-running fire of 2024, that title had been held by Falls Fire which sparked July 10 in Harney County and quickly grew into a wildfire of devastating proportions.
Fire crews were unable to contain the megafire until it reached 151,690 acres and had already destroyed 13 homes and 15 other buildings, injured 17 people, and killed one firefighting air tanker pilot.
Meanwhile, the Lone Rock fire has injured 12 people and destroyed three homes and nine buildings, according to the State of Oregon Fires and Hotsports Dashboard.
The 2024 wildfire season is the largest since 2020 with only a week of summer remaining. So far, these fires have consumed enormous areas of land, particularly in Eastern Oregon, but the fires are far less destructive than the 2020 Labor Day Fires.
Stay with KOIN 6 News as we continue our wildfire coverage.