Well, my fellow Frontier Partisans, we’ve got us a battle on our hands here in Sisters, Oregon. The Akawa Butte Fire I posted on a couple of days ago is now a massive, out-of-control 19,000+ acre inferno. It grew 6,000 acres overnight last night.
Many folks are evacuated, including one friend whose house is right in the pathway of this thing coming on like a freight train. Clan Cornelius is not out yet, but we’re prepping. And I’m working to keep the community informed…
I had planned to record Ep 3 of the American Revolution on the Frontier podcast today, but we’ve got our own fight to fight right now, and it’ll probably be that way for a few days.
Once again, some mighty fine country is being burned over. Life in the West.
2026 Akawa Butte Fire. Images taken from Black Butte, looking east.
2026 Akawa Butte Fire. View from Zimmerman Butte.
David Eamor says
I hope it all works out. Forest fires seem to be all over the place this summer.
I’m sure you’ve done everything and more to be ready.
Let us know how it goes or if you need anything,
JimC says
Thanks David. This has been a rough year in a lot of places — and it’s only July.
Matthew Ilseman says
Stay safe.
The Black Tyrone says
Be safe you can replace anything but family.
Padre says
Praying for favorable winds and rain, and safety for all those fighting and fleeing.
Paul McNamee says
Stay safe.
Ugly Hombre says
Stay safe Jim all your family and friends-
These damn fires are getting worse and worse.
We need more rain and better forest management when I was still working I came home for lunch one day a idiot threw a smoke butt out the window and started the brush on fire on both sides of the highway back to work- we had to evacuate.
Had to do that more than once..
Take care Amigo!
J.R. says
Prayers for you, your family, and your community.
JimC says
Thx JR.
Greg Austin Walker says
Firefighters and support assets doing yeoman’s work –
A big “Thank you!” to all.
Mike says
I foresee a similar photo of you yelling at the sky.
https://americanart.si.edu/artwork/rainmaking-among-mandan-4330
Good luck, stay safe. You’re all in our thoughts.
JimC says
Hey, I’ll give it a whirl.
Andrew Wills says
I hope you all are safe!
JimC says
The crisis point has passed. There’s still a lot of firefighting to do, but the threat to the community has receded. Wednesday, July 22, was a near-run thing.
Lynn Woodward says
I was alerted via Watch Duty when it started and found myself holding my breath as I followed its advance. It feels so strange to be in western NC, where we’ve had rain nearly every other day, indeed some flooding here while the West is getting torched. It was hard on my nervous system to watch from afar as that fire blew up and encroached on town; now I’m relieved to know that at least the Akawa Butte fire is dying. But I zoom out on Watch Duty and, yeah, f&%# it’s only July and so many fires, any of which can grow. The firefighting crews did a stupendous job on Akawa; I know you’re grateful.
Nobody here even talks about the horrendous devastation of wildfires out West. Just as many in the Pacific Northwest didn’t really register the hellacious devastation of Hurricane Helene here in Sept 2024.
JimC says
It is real bad on the Reservation and the rangeland around Prineville is getting chewed up bad. Pretty horrific. Marilyn’s favorite mule rescue outfit has been working flooding in Virginia.
Lynda A. Sanchez says
Jim, we just finished with a bad fire in our Capitan Mt. Wilderness area. This was in June. Fire was finally controlled but over 30,000 Acres of forest were burned. It was such rough country you really could not get too close in many areas so the USFS just let it burn. Driving between Lincoln, NM to Capitan NM one could see plumes of smoke coming up out of the many rough canyons. People who lived on the other side of the mountains in the Roswell area saw the orange of flames every evening for many days.
USFS needs better management techniques. I think they are aware now, but it sure took a while.
God Bless all of your family and friends. Lynda A. Sanchez, Lincoln, NM.
JimC says
Thank you Lynda. It’s rough across the West. Colorado got bad fires early, too. The ranchers in Central and Eastern Oregon are having a devastating time of it.