From the article:

Large swaths of Central Oregon have become consumed by wildfire, with several blazes burning across the region simultaneously, forcing thousands to evacuate and further stretching the state’s limited firefighting resources.

Late Saturday evening, the Bench Fire, just west of Madras, quickly grew to more than 6,200 acres with 0% containment. That led to Level 3 “Go Now” evacuation orders for the entirety of Warm Springs and other areas of Jefferson County.

Highway 26 was closed overnight between Warm Springs and Madras as firefighters worked to get the fire under control. The highway closed again Sunday between Prineville and John Day, and state transportation officials warned that erratic and rapidly spreading fires could further impact roads east of the Cascades, including Highways 26 and 20, into Monday.

The recent evacuations and road closures come as Oregon experiences one of the most aggressive wildfire seasons in years. A historically low snowpack over the winter has led to tinderbox conditions across much of the state. Officials say Oregon is experiencing August-like fire conditions in July.

Oregon currently has more than 34 active large fires burning statewide, covering more than 1 million acres, according to Jessica Neujahr, public affairs officer for the Oregon Department of Forestry.

She said conditions are so dry that “any small ember right now could potentially start the next large wildfire.” And the increasing number of fires is taxing the limited number of firefighters available.