Ferry Fire at 65% containment, John Day River reopens

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — After the Ferry Fire in Sherman County grew substantially into the weekend, the response from firefighters has also ramped up.

In an update on Sunday afternoon, the fire was reported to be 65% contained at 10,458 acres burning, Sherman County Emergency Services said in a Facebook post.

This comes after the fire, about 1.5 miles south of Cottonwood Canyon State Park, started on Thursday, then more than doubled in size in the past couple of days.

“The slight acreage growth since yesterday is due to interior pockets of unburned fuel burning, the fire perimeter did not grow,” Sherman County Emergency Services said. “The north/northwest side of the fire is fully contained and the fire area edge along the John Day River will continue to be monitored and mopped up as hotspots are found.”

After the Bureau of Land Management previously closed the John Day River, authorities reopened the river on Saturday.

In addition, a new fire had started on Saturday afternoon on the Deschutes River west of the Highway 197/97 junction, but fire crews put a stop to it at 51 acres, officials said,.

Fire crews will continue battling the Ferry Fire, putting a focus on the areas that aren’t contained yet.

Some evaluation levels were lowered on Saturday. Officials said to sign up for emergency notifications for the latest information on evacuation levels in Sherman and Gilliam counties.