ENTERPRISE — All evacuation orders due to wildfires were rescinded at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 14, by the Wallowa County Sheriff’s Office, according to a Sept. 15 press release.

The decision to rescind the evacuation levels came after reviewing the increased containment level on the Double Creek Fire and progress made on the Eagle Cap Wilderness fires, the release stated.

Another community meeting to discuss the fires will be held Sept. 16 at 6 p.m. at the Joseph Community Events Center and it will be streamed live on Facebook.

Moderating weather also led to the rescinding of the evacuations. However, thunderstorms and lightning that passed through the area Sept. 13 resulted in three new fire starts, two to the south of the Double Creek Fire and one to the north. The Pacific Northwest Team 2 remains committed to battling the blazes and will continue to monitor the area for any new starts.

There was no change reported on the Double Creek Fire, which remains at 157,088 acres and 23% contained with 759 personnel assigned.

The same is true for the wilderness fires, all of which are zero percent contained. The Sturgill Fire is still at 20,036 acres with 64 personnel assigned, the Nebo Fire remains at 12,563 acres with 90 personnel and the Goat Mountain 2 fire is at 535 acres with no personnel assigned.

Firefighters on the Double Creek were working the north end of the fire and were busy Sept. 14 responding to a new start. They also worked on connecting the fire line between Horse Creek and Lightning Creek down to Dunbar Road, to protect private structures in the area. Crews continued working on the north end of the fire that spotted over the Imnaha River on Sept. 10. They continue to strengthen fireline and perform mop-up operations. Fire managers are anticipating that the spot fire will be in patrol status soon.

On Sept. 15, crews in the south will continue working on the Morgan Ridge trail system and work on creating a north-south fireline on Saddle Road. This will help build additional protection for the Imnaha River Woods if the fire were to move farther south.

Smokejumpers were pulled out of the Sturgill Fire area Sept. 14 with the completion of structure protection efforts. Masticators are still operating on the Lostine River Road to help strengthen a north-south line that could stop any potential eastern progression of the fire. The primary work that remains on the Sturgill Fire is the shaded fuel break to the north along Bear Creek Road.

Crews on the Nebo Fire were able to continue chipping operations Sept.14 after the fire received more than 0.10 inches of rain on Tuesday. About a mile of chipping still needs to be completed on the 39 Road. The dozer line to the north of the fire and the line to the southeast of the fire are still focal areas on the Nebo Fire. Crews will work to wrap up the chipping and clean up on 39 Road Sept. 15 and continue to push forward on the northern and southeastern lines.

Fire activity on the Goat Mountain 2 Fire is minimal and it is being monitored by air.

Cooler temperatures and precipitation have moderated fire activity in the region, but the rain did not reach all areas of the fires. Some areas received significant wetting rains while others remain dry. Residual moisture and cooler temperatures will help dampen fire spread potential until sufficient drying occurs. Additional thunderstorms are forecast for Sept. 15 and crews will remain on alert for potential new starts and any initial attack response needs.

For more information, call 541-216-4579 or email 2022.doublecreek@firenet.gov. Information also is available on the InciWeb site at https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/8366/