OREGON — One of the biggest fires burning in the United States is the Durkee Fire in eastern Oregon. As of Wednesday morning, the fire was reported at 244,858 acres and continues to grow as intense weather is expected to hit the area. The Oregon Department of Transportation closed Interstate 84 from Pendleton to Ontario on Wednesday. …The area is under a red flag warning, hurricane force winds and a flash flood warning, according to the Durkee Fire updates. The National Weather Service also expects extreme thunderstorms and lightning in the area. Due to the immense heat the Durkee Fire is creating and the existing winds, it is creating its own storms and changing the overall wind patterns. “We call those pyrocumulus and you end up with a thunderstorm over the fire because there’s so much heat and just enough moisture above the fire to get a storm that forms,” Mike Cantin, a meteorologist said.