Rowena Wildfire Burns Through 3,300 Acres in North Oregon, State Expected to Face Over $900,000 in Damages

A dangerous wildfire has burned over 3,300 acres in Oregon near the Columbia River Gorge community of Rowena.

The massive blaze began on Tuesday six miles west of The Dalles, Oregon. Gov. John Kitzhaber invoked the Emergency Conflagration Act early Wednesday morning.

"Today I'm outside of Ashland seeing firsthand the devastation caused by fires in the Beaver Complex. This new blaze in the Columbia River Gorge is equally concerning, and already it threatens Oregonians' homes and puts lives at risk," Gov. Kitzhaber said in a press release. "We're acting quickly to deploy more resources to battle the Rowena Fire to help residents and firefighters."

The Rowena Fire has burned about four square miles of trees and brush in north Oregon, damaging at least two homes and destroying another. The wildfire threatens almost 750 homes, while residents in 275 homes have also been told to evacuate. Dozens more were warned to be prepared at any time, according to KGW.com.

In addition, 143 homes have been placed under a Level III evacuation notice.

Fourteen firefighting units, 16 fire trucks, three bulldozers and six rotary aircraft are actively trying to stop the blaze, according to fire officials. Firefighters from the Portland metro are part of the containment effort.

Firefights worked to bring the flames under 35 percent containment, according to KOIN 5.

Incident Manager John Buckman announced that he is becoming more optimistic that fire crews will be able to completely contain the blaze.

"The Incident Management Team is trying to button up the rear end of the fire," he said. "[We've] got a pretty good line on the south side of the fire, but the face above Rowena will take two or three days of real hard work."

"It's scary. It's very scary," said Jena Webb, whose daughter's house is in the evacuation zone. "I grabbed my daughter's computer and pictures are gone, and my husband is putting irrigation pipe out here. We've got sprinklers on the roof, and there's not much else you can do."

It is estimated that fire will cost the state $937,000.