The Bureau of Land Management announces an immediate temporary closure of public lands in Crook County due to an active fire in the area. The Willow fire is now more than 4,000 acres as of Friday, July 11. The closures are taken to ensure public safety, protect land health, and maintain resource integrity, while minimizing conflicts with emergency response teams engaged in fire suppression efforts. Closure Details: The affected public lands include portions of the following townships as shown on the map:
- Tp. 20 S., Rg. 23 E
- Tp. 20 S., Rg. 24 E
- Tp. 21 S., Rg. 23 E (north of Buck Creek Road)
- Tp. 21 S., Rg. 24 E
This closure is effective immediately and will remain in place until conditions permit safe public access. Exceptions to the Closure: Certain individuals may be exempt from this closure, including:
- Federal, State, or local officers or members of emergency crews engaged in official duties.
- BLM employees and contractors performing their official tasks.
- Individuals with existing rights for access or those holding written approval from the BLM Authorized Officer.
Legal Penalties: Violations of this closure may result in legal action, including fines and potential imprisonment. Vehicles found violating this order may be towed. For further information, please contact the Prineville District Front Desk at 541-416-6700. Details of the closure and relevant maps will be available online at Fire Restrictions – Oregon-Washington Bureau of Land Management.
The Willow Fire July 11:
The WillowFire has grown to 4,403 acres, burning on Prineville District BLM and private land in Crook County. Firefighters have constructed fire line around the majority of the fire, including the head of the fire on the east side of Buck Creek to prevent further movement to the southeast onto more private land and the Malheur National Forest. The Willow Fire is 0% contained.
The Central Oregon Type 3 Incident Management Team under the command of Adam Barnes is now in command of the Willow Fire as of yesterday at 3:00 p.m. There was minimal activity on the fire yesterday and with favorable weather today, BLM and USFS engines, dozers and skidgens, along with Brothers-Hampton Rangeland Fire Protection Association (RFPA) resources will focus on completing fire line construction and to begin securing the fireperimeter and mopping up where possible. Evacuation orders remain in place for the Willow Fire, including Level 3 GO NOW evacuations for the immediate area around WillowButte, as well as Level 2 BE SET evacuations south of the fire.
The Sunrise Fire is now 90% contained at 307 acres in the South Fork Wilderness Study Area and firefighters are continuing to work on mopping up and securing the perimeter
The Foley Creek and Board Hollow Fires on private land protected by the Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF), 20 miles north of Prineville are both 80% contained at 30 acres and 21.5 acres respectively.
Firefighters responded to 4 new fires yesterday will continue to remain vigilant for new starts that result from lightning earlier in the week. As resources continue to work these fires, the public is reminded to careful with all ignition sources, especially with forecast high temperatures this weekend. Do your part to prevent one more spark.
Information on all fires in Central Oregon will be posted on the only official source for wildfireinformation in Central Oregon at centraloregonfire.org or on X/Twitter @CentralORfire.
Call 9-1-1 to report a wildfire. For smoke and air quality information visit fire.airnow.gov.
The Crook County Sheriff’s Office dropped the Level 3 (Go Now) and Level 2 (Be Set) evacuation levels to a LEVEL 1 (BE READY) for the area of Willow Butte in southeast Crook County as of 9am Friday July 11. For the latest, check the Sheriff’s Facebook page.
This article appears in Source Weekly July 10, 2025.
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