JOHN DAY All three structural task forces sent to John Day after wildfires threatened to sweep into town Thursday night have been demobilized, officials report.

The three came from Baker/Union, Yamhill and Hood River/Wasco counties. The State Fire Marshal also had sent an incident management team for structure protection, and it too has been released from the fire.

They were brought in after the governor invoked the Conflagration Act at the request of local fire officials Thursday night.   

Officials on Saturday credited a combination of cooler weather, light rain, and the efforts of fire crews for halting the threat to homes and other buildings.

Meanwhile, Oregon Interagency Incident Management Team 4 continues to manage the operations on the still-burning GC Complex fires, including the Grouse Mountain Fire north of John Day and Starvation Fire south of Prairie City.

The total acreage on Saturday morning is 12,287 acres, and officials say the fires are 50 percent contained.

At a community meeting Friday night in John Day, officials lauded the work by local rural fire departments to keep the fire at bay before added resources arrived.

“There was some great work done by the local resources to keep the fire where was,” said Scott Majors, an incident commander for the Oregon Fire Marshal’ team. “You should be proud of your local fire department. They worked their tails off.”

Team 4 Incident Commander Brian Watts also lauded the work done before his team came in, adding, “And they did it safely.”

He said the only injuries reported were a minor scrape on an elbow and some dirt in an eye.

On Friday, the Grouse Mountain Fire, burning in grass and juniper on private land, spotted to the northeast, the only new growth reported. Firefighters responded quickly to stop the spread, officials said.

Smoke and some flames are still visible in the fire, as previously untouched trees and brush in the interior are consumed.

The Starvation Fire, burning on federal forest land, showed little or no growth Friday.

Watts cautioned that there is still a potential for significant fire behavior, with thunderstorms in the forecast. Storm cells moving over the fire area could cause spot fires to spread rapidly.

Malheur Forest Supervisor Teresa Raaf agreed, noting “We have a lot of starts happening out there.”

“We’re not done with this yet,” she said. “We have to remain vigilant.”

George Ponte, district forester for Oregon Department of Forestry, acknowledged that the Grouse Mountain Fire “got a lot bigger than we ever wanted it to be.”

However, he said the fire’s growth came as another lightning-caused blaze, the Marysville Fire, threatened to overtake homes in southeast John Day and Canyon City.

Resources were stretched thin, and protecting lives and the community took priority, he noted.

On Friday, more than 600 people were on the job at the Grouse Mountain Fire, with some 500 still working on Saturday.

Magone Lake Campground remains closed due to the proximity of the fire. Forest Service Road 18 to Magone Lake and County Road 32 from Highway 395 to Magone Lake are closed.

Officials also closed Forest Service Road 6001 from the Malheur Forest boundary to Strawberry Campground because of the fires in that area.