McCully

Wilderness evacuations expand as crews build fuelbreaks along scenic byway

The McCully Fire is burning in the Elkhorn Mountains northwest of Baker City, pushing north through the North Fork John Day Wilderness toward the Elkhorn Drive Scenic Byway. Over the last 72 hours, the fire advanced along the ridge between Baldy Creek and Limber Creek while crews established containment north of Bourne and conducted strategic burning along the southern flank. Structure protection systems remain in place around cabins in nearby drainages, with no homes damaged.

Evacuations and Closures

• Level 3 (Go Now) evacuation orders are in effect for the North Fork John Day Wilderness west of Baldy Creek, including the Baldy Creek Trail and Trailhead along Forest Road 73 (September 1).
• Level 2 (Be Set) evacuation warnings are in effect north of Crane Creek and east of Forest Road 73, and north of Forest Road 73, east of Forest Road 52, and south of South Trail Creek (September 1).
• Level 1 (Be Ready) evacuation notices remain in effect for the communities of Sumpter and Granite (September 1).
• An emergency forest area closure is in effect for the McCully Fire area on the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest (September 1).

Impact

Structure protection crews have installed hose lays, pumps, and sprinkler systems around cabins in Bourne, Snell Hollow, Silver Creek, and Cable Cove, with no structure damage reported. Active firing operations and fire spread have produced heavy smoke plumes visible across Sumpter and surrounding Baker County communities.

Conditions and Outlook

Winds will shift to the southwest with cooler conditions, increasing humidity, and a high likelihood of rain and mountain snow over the coming days. Fire managers expect incoming moisture to dampen activity in the Baldy Creek area while crews continue constructing indirect fuelbreaks along the Elkhorn Drive Scenic Byway and securing lines along the southern perimeter.

Cause and Context

The fire was ignited by lightning on August 22 in the Elkhorn Mountains north of Sumpter. Burning through steep terrain with heavy timber litter and understory fuels, operations are being coordinated from an incident command post at the Sumpter Fairgrounds.

Resources

• McCully Fire InciWeb Incident Page
• Baker and Grant County Evacuation Map
• Wallowa-Whitman National Forest Fire Closures

Official updates current through September 1, 2026.