LA GRANDE — The Mount Emily Fire, which is now fully contained, never threatened any structures, but it could have threatened a significant number if it had started moving in the direction of La Grande.

“It would have hit the most private property if it had burned east and downhill,” Union County Emergency Service Manager Nick Vora said.

Contingency plans were being made to issue evacuation notices to people living in the area if the fire began threatening structures, Vora said. The notices would have been in phases, with the first telling people to be ready to evacuate quickly.

The 5.4-acre fire, which was first reported at about 11 p.m. Friday, Sept. 2, was close to the Mount Emily Recreation Area but is not believed to have ever actually been on it. Vora said if the fire had moved east it would have come on to a portion of MERA where tree thinning work had been done more than a year ago to reduce fuel loads.

“That likely would have proven very beneficial,” Vora said of the thinning work.

Fortunately, the Mount Emily Fire never threatened to go deep into MERA because it was controlled quickly by firefighting crews with the U.S. Forest Service and the Oregon Department of Forestry.

“I really cannot say enough good things about our local firefighters and their initial attack,” Vora said. “They stepped up and did an amazing job.”

The fire’s forward progression was stopped by the morning of Sept. 4 and the blaze was listed as contained at 7:55 p.m. that day, according to the Blue Mountain Interagency Dispatch Center.

Vora said one of the most important lessons reinforced by the fire is the importance of staying in close communication with agencies combating wildfires from the start.

“It allows us to plan ahead for any eventualities,” he said. “Otherwise, we are reacting without time to plan.”