Oregon Wildfire Spirals Out of Control, Forces Mass Evacuations

Wednesday afternoon started normal enough in Wasco County. Then somebody's careless moment—officials won't say exactly what—sparked a disaster that's now consumed 2,500 acres and shows zero signs of slowing down.

The Rowena Fire exploded across northern Oregon near the Washington border, turning an ordinary June day into an evacuation nightmare. By Thursday morning, firefighters hadn't contained even one percent of the blaze. That's the kind of statistic that keeps emergency managers awake at night.

More than 800 homes sit under mandatory evacuation orders. Another 2,500 families got the dreaded "be ready to run" warnings, including residents of The Dalles—a city of 15,000 people who probably never imagined their entire community could be threatened by wildfire.

When Highways Become Escape Routes