Willowcreek Fire burning in Eastern Oregon estimated at 40K acres

VALE, Ore. (KPTV) - A wildfire burning in Eastern Oregon has grown to about 40,000 acres overnight since it was first reported Tuesday afternoon.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) said the Willowcreek Fire was first reported at about 4:15 p.m. on private land northeast of Vale, which is about 12 miles west of the Idaho border.

As of Wednesday morning, the fire was estimated at 40,000 acres with zero containment. It is burning in grass and sagebrush rangelands.

BLM said firefighters were able to take advantage of the cooler overnight temperatures and lighter winds to combat the fire. Temperatures are expected to rise throughout the day which will increase fire activity, but lighter winds are expected. BLM said the fire is not expected to spread as quickly as it did Tuesday.

No injuries have been reported, no structures are threatened and no evacuations have been ordered, according to BLM.

OSFM is on scene assisting with the response to the #WillowCreekFire near Vale, OR. We thank our fire service members on scene and our wildland partners for their response. We will update this page with more details. There are no evacuations currently in place. pic.twitter.com/YByrJgYZM5
— Oregon OSFM (@OSFM) June 29, 2022

The Oregon Department of Transportation closed Interstate 84 between Ontario and Baker City for several hours on Tuesday due to smoke from the fire. The interstate was reopened around 11 p.m.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.