The massive Rowe Creek Complex wildfire reached 364,413 acres Saturday — spanning Jefferson, Crook, Wheeler, and Wasco counties — as crews fought extreme fire behavior and spot fires continued to threaten US Highway 26.

A wildfire staffing grant from the Oregon State Fire Marshal is helping Crooked River Ranch Fire and Rescue keep an extra firefighter on duty each day through the heart of fire season, strengthening both local response and regional mutual aid.

Both fires that have burned across Jefferson County and the Warm Springs Reservation are nearing full containment, but near-record heat and critically low humidity forecast for this weekend are keeping crews on alert.

A new fire erupted before dawn Thursday near Gateway while the massive Rowe Creek Complex continued burning east of Culver and Metolius. Here is the latest on every active fire affecting Jefferson County.

The Rowe Creek Complex Fire — burning since July 15 near Fossil — has grown to 329,012 acres and remains 62% contained. US Highway 26 is still closed through the fire corridor, and crews are warning the public to stay out of closed areas as dangerous conditions persist.

The Round Butte Fire west of Madras has grown to 1,091 acres with 12% containment as of Tuesday. Crews secured the perimeter overnight and are now mopping up, but near-record heat forecast for Wednesday threatens to complicate firefighting efforts.

The Round Butte Fire west of Madras held at 1,039 acres through the weekend as crews secured control lines. Command transferred Monday morning to a regional incident management team now also overseeing the Bench Fire, with Level 1–3 evacuations still active across parts of Jefferson County.

A fast-moving wildfire that ignited Friday afternoon on the south slope of Round Butte has burned 1,039 acres as of Sunday morning and remains at zero percent containment, though firefighters made enough overnight progress for Jefferson County to begin lifting some evacuation levels.

A fast-moving vegetation fire ignited Saturday afternoon on the south side of Round Butte, roughly five miles west of Madras, and grew rapidly to an estimated 1,200 acres by Saturday evening. Level 3 evacuation orders were issued for the immediate area as firefighters from Jefferson County and multiple state and federal agencies worked through the night to contain the blaze.

A Red Flag Warning is in effect Saturday for Jefferson County and most of Central Oregon, threatening to push the already-massive Bench Fire beyond its 32% containment lines. Firefighters are bracing for winds up to 30 mph and humidity as low as 5 percent.

The Bench Fire burning southwest of Warm Springs reached 64,407 acres Thursday at 22% containment. Firefighters are racing to establish containment lines near Metolius Road before anticipated Red Flag conditions arrive this weekend, while Camp Sherman faces expanded evacuations.