The Associated Press
PORTLAND, Ore. — Gov. Kate Brown is activating an additional 250 Oregon National Guard members to help fight destructive wildfires raging across the state.
Brown’s decision on Saturday comes days after she activated an initial 125 guard members, who began training in Salem on Saturday and were scheduled to be dispatched on Wednesday to the front lines.
The next group will begin training next week, the governor’s office said.
Strong winds carried smoke from the blazes ravaging large swaths of Oregon and Washington, prompting air-quality alerts and an influx of 911 calls across the Willamette Valley.
With the smoke now affecting the most populated areas of the state, health officials in Multnomah, Clackamas and Washington counties urged people to take precautions, such as limiting time outdoors and avoiding strenuous activity.
“The combination of high temperatures and wildfire smoke in the tri-county area may increase the risk of illness especially for older adults, young children and people with asthma, respiratory or heart conditions,” Dr. Paul Lewis, the tri-county health officer for the Portland metro area, said in a statement.
Emergency dispatch centers from Portland to Astoria said they were inundated with worried calls to 911. They said people should only call if they see a distinct column of smoke or an obvious source of flames.
Meanwhile, fire officials said an aggressive attack helped them quickly contain a fire that broke out Thursday north of Prairie City, which has held steady at 240 acres. Firefighters spent Saturday fortifying their containment lines. No structures were lost, and fire managers eased an evacuation notice.
The fire broke out east of a massive and destructive blaze burning south of John Day, and fire crews were quickly redeployed to corral it.
At the John Day blaze, which has destroyed at least three dozen homes, firefighters said their containment lines held through strong winds Friday, and crews spent Saturday fortifying and extending them. Power crews continued working to restore electricity to homes along Highway 395, which remains closed to all but local traffic. The fire has burned 105 square miles and was 17 percent contained.
Elsewhere, structure-protection crews worked day and night to protect homes near the small communities of Troy and Flora in Oregon’s far northeastern corner. A blaze burning on both sides of the Oregon and Washington border has destroyed three homes, and crews said at least 300 more are scattered throughout the threatened area. Lightning started 17 fires on Aug. 13, and they have since merged into five. Together, they have scorched 92 square miles.