Published 11:50 am Thursday, June 18, 2026
By EastOregonian.com
PENDLETON — A fire that started Thursday morning, June 18, on the west end of Pendleton has been contained.
The fire, which started around 10:40 a.m. was originally reported by Watch Duty as a small brush fire near Interstate 84. The blaze was just off the entrance to I-84 westbound at Exit 207 by the field of solar panels. Exit 207 was closed during the fire, but I-84 remains open.
The fire burned about 10 acres, according to Pendleton Fire Department Chief Tony Pierotti. It was sparked by a mower used by maintenance crews working on the solar panels, per city officials.
Though the fire burned close to Lookout RV Park, 601 Airport Road, no structures or recreational vehicles were damaged thanks to the crews’ efforts. Pierotti said the solar panels above much of the fire did burn, but he wasn’t sure of the extent of the damage.
Multiple fire agencies responded to the blaze, including Pendleton Fire Department, Echo Rural Fire Protection District, Umatilla Tribal Fire Department and Pilot Rock Rural Fire Protection District. Oregon State Police, Oregon Department of Forestry and Oregon Department of Transportation are also on scene.
“This type of call also exhausted our local resources to respond to other emergency calls in Pendleton,” Pierotti said. “We had to have East Umatilla (Fire and Rescue) respond to Pendleton for a medical call during this incident.”
At about 1:10 p.m. June 18, Pierotti said the first responders were just finishing their mop-up efforts at the fire.

source