WALLOWA — Rainfall over the weekend helped firefighters battle the Elbow Creek Fire, which is now 78% contained and has remained at 22,960 acres for several days.

Mop-up operations are in progress around the perimeter of the fire in northern Wallowa County, according to a statement Monday, Aug. 3. The main priorities are the Elbow Creek Drainage, Grossman Creek and Sickfoot Creek.

The night of Aug. 2 was the final night operation, according to the statement.

Aug. 3 was the final day for ODF’s Type 1 Incident Management Team 3. A Type 3 team will take over for remaining efforts on the fire.

There are now 786 personnel on site, as many crew members were sent away over the weekend due to the progress.

The statement emphasized that there are still fire hazards in the area, including stump holes, ash pits and fire-weakened trees. Because of this, the Promise, Wallupa and Troy roads all remain closed to the public.