©CTWS Fire Management

Residents of Central and Eastern Oregon faced smoke-filled skies and closed highways Monday morning after hot, dry weather and strong winds fueled wildfires and burned homes over the weekend. Oregon currently has dozens of active, large fires burning statewide, covering more than 1 million acres, according to Jessica Neujahr, public affairs officer for the Oregon Department of Forestry. She said conditions are so dry that “any small ember right now could potentially start the next large wildfire.” Lightning storms sparked many of today’s wildfires, and more could be on the way. Forecasters expect another round of lightning in northeastern Oregon Thursday afternoon. …As of Monday, the Big Grass Fire, near Jordan Valley, also grew to nearly 200,000 acres, with only 5% containment, prompting Level 3 “Go Now!” evacuation orders for residents in the area. …Six homes and five agricultural buildings have burned in the Bench Fire. It’s covering about 40,200 acres.