Above: Map showing the approximate, not exact, locations of the Nena Springs and Whitewater Fires within the eclipse path of totality. August 19, 2017.
(Updated at 6:29 p.m. PDT August 19, 2017)
Two large Central Oregon wildfires are inside the path of totality (POT) for Monday’s eclipse — the 7,500-acre Whitewater Fire 6 miles east of Idanha and the 66,000-acre Nena Springs Fire 14 miles north of Madras.
The Nena Springs Fire was very active on Thursday and Friday, adding another 19,000 acres. A large airtanker was used Friday evening to strategically place a line of retardant along a ridgeline where the fire crossed the Warm Springs River. The fire ran less than a half mile before this action effectively stopped the run. Two Bureau of Land Management engines also successfully extinguished a fire that had grown to ¼ acre across the Deschutes River.
Ten structures have been destroyed on the Nena Springs Fire.
The Whitewater Fire a mile east of Highway 22 is actively burning near the Whitewater Trailhead in the Mt. Jefferson Wilderness east of Detroit. On Friday firefighters conducted both hand and aerial firing operations to reinforce the southwest control lines. On Saturday crews will construct more control lines and continue planned tactical hand and aerial firing operations.
There are no reports of major highways being closed due to the wildfire activity in Oregon except for Oregon Highway 242, near the Milli Fire, which remains closed from Sisters west to Hwy 126. The Milli Fire is just outside the eclipse path of totality.