WA Route 14 reopens in the Columbia River Gorge as Burdoin fire continues to burn

VANCOUVER, Wash. – The Burdoin Fire burning between Bingen, Washington, and Lyle, Oregon, in the Columbia River Gorge was 54% contained as of Monday morning, according to officials. State Route 14, which has been closed for nearly 10 days east of White Salmon, Washington, reopened this afternoon.

The Klickitat County Sheriff’s Office on Sunday downgraded Level 3 evacuations that had been in place for more than a week to Level 2.

The Burdoin fire has destroyed an estimated 44 structures and damaged dozens of others, according to unofficial counts as of late last week.

The wildfire, which started July 18, has burned 11,224 acres along state Route 14 in the Gorge.

More than 700 firefighting personnel, 56 engines and five helicopters are assigned to the fire.

While cooler temperatures and a lull in the Gorge winds helped firefighters improve containment on the fire over the weekend, more wind and thunderstorms are in the forecast for this week in the area.

“Unmanned Aircraft Systems or UAS, have been flying overhead to help pinpoint hotspots around homes and unburned islands within the interior of the fire, allowing ground fire resources to quickly extinguish these areas of heat, limiting exposure and providing for safety,” according to the official Burdoin Fire Facebook page.

The Burdoin fire is the largest wildfire burning in Washington, although the Bear Gulch fire burning in Olympic National Forest topped 1,000 acres over the weekend.

The Pomas fire has been burning for seven weeks in the Glacier Peak Wilderness and is at 3,449 acres.

The Hope fire in Stevens County in Eastern Washington is more than 8,000 acres but is 79% contained.