Gusty winds help spread fast growing central Oregon wildfire and prompt evacuations

LA PINE, Oregon (AP) — Gusty winds fueled a rapidly growing wildfire just outside the central Oregon community of La Pine and prompted evacuations Tuesday.

The fire was estimated to be 2.7 square miles (6.9 square kilometers) in size Tuesday night, Central Oregon Fire Information posted on the social media site X. The fire was growing and not contained.

Evacuation alerts were sent to 1,100 homes and businesses, said Lt. Jayson Janes of the Deschutes County Sherriff's Office. He said about 50-60 people sought refuge at a local high school serving as an evacuation center.

It was not clear whether any structures had burned.

Gov. Tina Kotek invoked an order allowing the fire marshal to mobilize resources to help fight the blaze. A billowing plume of black and gray smoke loomed over businesses including grocery stores and strip malls.

Jodi Kerr was packing up her home decor and gifts store in La Pine so she could evacuate.

“It’s part of the risk of living in an area like this. It’s beautiful, but it’s wild,” said Kerr, the owner of Meandering Maker Mercantile.

She said it’s hard to think about the people who’ve spent years building businesses and then be concerned about losing it all overnight.

The fire started about one mile (1.6 kilometers) south of La Pine. It's cause was under investigation.

Central Oregon Fire Management Service firefighters used dozers, or heavy construction equipment adapted to battle wildfires, to establish control lines around the blaze. Aircraft dropped fire retardant to slow the flames.

La Pine High School was serving as a temporary evacuation point while La Pine Rodeo Grounds was hosting a livestock and small animal shelter.

TV station KTVZ reported that several U.S. Forest Service campgrounds and trails had been evacuated and closed.

La Pine is about 192 miles (309 kilometers) south of Portland.

In Southern California, about 2,500 San Diego residents were under evacuation orders as fire crews used aircraft to attack a blaze that broke out Tuesday afternoon near Torrey Pines State Beach. Authorities closed two Interstate 5 off-ramps as winds pushed flames through about 20 acres (8 hectares) of dry brush at a nature preserve and toward homes.

Firefighters working in steep, rugged terrain reached 5% containment and stopped the fire’s forward progress, officials said around 5 p.m.

Two firefighters were treated for heat exhaustion, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported. An evacuation center was set up at the Del Mar Fairgrounds.

Improved weather conditions aided firefighters as they battled a rural Northern California wildfire that destroyed two structures and threatened the community of Palermo, which is near where the state’s deadliest wildfire struck six years ago.

The fire spread over about 1 square mile (2.6 square kilometers) in the initial hours Monday evening but was static Tuesday. Containment reached 25%, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire, said.

Winds subsided, marine air brought some cooling and “the conditions are favorable,” said Capt. Dan Collins of Cal Fire. The cause of the blaze — dubbed the Apache Fire — was under investigation.

In this photo provided by the Deschutes County Sherriff's Office, smoke rises from a wildfire near La Pine, Ore., Tuesday, June 25, 2024. Gusty winds fueled a rapidly growing wildfire just outside the central Oregon community of La Pine and prompted evacuations. (Sgt. Kyle Kalambach/Deschutes County Sherriff's Office via AP)

In this photo provided by the Deschutes County Sherriff's Office, smoke rises from a wildfire near La Pine, Oregon, Tuesday, June 25, 2024. Gusty winds fueled a rapidly growing wildfire just outside the central Oregon community of La Pine and prompted evacuations. (Sgt. Kyle Kalambach/Deschutes County Sherriff's Office via AP)

Smoke from a wildfire rises on a road near La Pine, Ore., Tuesday, June 25, 2024. The fire prompted mandatory evacuations in the small town in central Oregon and was growing rapidly in hot, dry conditions. (Jim Pharris via AP)

The remains of a structure destroyed by the Apache Fire as it burns in Palermo, Calif., on Tuesday, Jun. 25, 2024. According to Cal Fire, more than a dozen new fires sparked by lightning. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

Firefighters mop up as the Apache Fire burns in Palermo, Calif., on Tuesday, Jun. 25, 2024. According to Cal Fire, more than a dozen new fires sparked by lightning. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

Firefighters mop up as the Apache Fire burns in Palermo, Calif., on Tuesday, Jun. 25, 2024. According to Cal Fire, more than a dozen new fires sparked by lightning. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

Firefighters mop up as the Apache Fire burns in Palermo, Calif., on Tuesday, Jun. 25, 2024. According to Cal Fire, more than a dozen new fires sparked by lightning. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

Dogs watch through the fence of a property burned by the Apache Fire in Palermo, Calif., on Tuesday, Jun. 25, 2024. According to Cal Fire, more than a dozen new fires sparked by lightning. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

The remains of a structure destroyed by the Apache Fire as it burns in Palermo, Calif., on Tuesday, Jun. 25, 2024.According to Cal Fire, more than a dozen new fires sparked by lightning. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

The remains of a structure destroyed by the Apache Fire as it burns in Palermo, Calif., on Tuesday, Jun. 25, 2024. According to Cal Fire, more than a dozen new fires sparked by lightning. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

A helicopter drops water on the Apache Fire as it burns in Palermo, Calif., on Tuesday, Jun. 25, 2024. According to Cal Fire, more than a dozen new fires sparked by lightning. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

A firefighter uses a hose while a helicopter drops water as the Apache Fire burns in Palermo, Calif., on Tuesday, Jun. 25, 2024. According to Cal Fire, more than a dozen new fires sparked by lightning. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

The Apache Fire burns in Butte County, Calif. Monday, June 24, 2024. Improved weather conditions aided firefighters Tuesday as they battled the rural northern California wildfire. (Cal Fire via AP)

The Apache Fire burns in Butte County, Calif. Monday, June 24, 2024. Improved weather conditions aided firefighters Tuesday as they battled the rural northern California wildfire. (Cal Fire via AP)

PRAIRIE DU CHIEN, Wis. (AP) — Former President Donald Trump meandered Saturday through a list of grievances against Vice President Kamala Harris and other issues during an event intended to link his Democratic opponent to illegal border crossings.

A day after Harris discussed immigration at the U.S.-Mexico border, Trump spoke to a crowd in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, about immigration. He blamed Harris for migrants committing crimes after entering the U.S. illegally, alleging she was responsible for “erasing our border.”

“I will liberate Wisconsin from the mass migrant invasion,” he said. “We’re going to liberate the country.”

Trump hopes frustration over illegal immigration will translate to votes in Wisconsin and other crucial swing states. The Republican nominee has denounced people who cross the U.S.-Mexico border as “poisoning the blood of the country” and vowed to stage the largest deportation operation in American history if elected. And polls show Americans believe Trump would do a better job than Harris on handling immigration.

Trump shifted from topic to topic so quickly that it was hard to keep track of what he meant at times. He talked about the two assassination attempts against him and blamed the U.S. Secret Service for not being able to hold a large outdoor rally instead of an event in a smaller indoor space. But he also offered asides about climate change, Harris' father, how his beach body was better than President Joe Biden's, and a fly that was buzzing near him.

“I wonder where the fly came from,” he said. "Two years ago, I wouldn’t have had a fly up here. You’re changing rapidly. But we can’t take it any longer. We can’t take it any longer.”

Trump repeatedly brought up Harris' Friday event in Douglas, Arizona, where she announced a push to further restrict asylum claims beyond Biden's executive order announced earlier this year. Harris denounced Trump's handling of the border while president and his opposing a bipartisan border package earlier this year, saying Trump “prefers to run on a problem instead of fixing a problem.”

“I had to sit there and listen" to Harris last night Trump said, eliciting cheers. “And who puts it on? Fox News. They should not be allowed to put it on. It’s all lies. Everything she says is lies.”

The Republican nominee also intensified his personal attacks against Harris, insulting her as “mentally impaired” and a “disaster.”

Trump professed not to understand what Harris meant when she said he was responsible for taking children from their parents. Under his administration, border agents separated children from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border in a policy that was condemned globally as inhumane and one that Trump himself ended under pressure from his own party.

Harris, at a rally in San Francisco, told supporters there were “two very different visions for our nation” and voters see it “every day on the campaign trial.”

“Donald Trump is the same old tired show,” she said. “The same tired playbook we have heard for years.”

She Trump was “a very unserious man." “However the consequences of putting him back in the White House are extremely serious.”

At Trump's event, on either side of the stage were poster-sized mug shots of men in the U.S. illegally accused of a crime, including Alejandro Jose Coronel Zarate, a case Trump cited in his speech.

Wisconsin Republicans in recent days have cited the story of Coronel Zarate's arrest in Prairie du Chien as more evidence that people in the country illegally are committing crimes across the United States, not just in southern border states. Prosecutors charged Coronel Zarate on Sept. 18 with sexual assault, child abuse, strangulation and domestic abuse. His lawyers declined to comment.

Police Chief Kyle Teynor posted statements on Facebook saying that Coronel Zarate is not a U.S. citizen and that he had two fake immigration documents, including a fake Social Security card. The chief added that Coronel Zarate’s tattoos indicate he’s affiliated with the Tren de Aragua gang, which started in Venezuelan prisons and is posing a growing threat in the U.S.

Speaking to the crowd Saturday, Teynor stressed to the crowd that Coronel Zarate is the only Venezuelan gang member his agency has encountered, but the violence his two alleged victims suffered at his hands earlier this month was very real.

Republicans including U.S. Sen. Derrick Van Orden, who is from Prairie du Chien, have criticized authorities in both Minneapolis and Madison for letting Coronel Zarate go, saying they essentially allowed him to attack the woman in Prairie du Chien. They have accused both jurisdictions of being sanctuaries for people in the country illegally.

Van Orden told the crowd Trump was the only one who could restore order.

“You’re going to see the one man who has enough strength and courage of conviction to stand up to anyone up to and including being shot in the head for us," he said.

Long reported from Washington. Associated Press Writer Will Weissert reported from San Francisco.

Supporters cheer as Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign event Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, in Prairie du Chien, Wis. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks during a rally, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, in Prairie du Chien, Wis. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign event, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, in Prairie du Chien, Wis. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

Supporters wait for Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump to arrive at a rally, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, in Prairie du Chien, Wis. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

Supporters wait for Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump to arrive at a rally, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, in Prairie du Chien, Wis. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

Merchandise vendor Sam Smith, of Sarasota, Fla., stands with his dog Milo while waiting for Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump to arrive at a rally, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, in Prairie du Chien, Wis. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

A supporter waits for Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump to arrive at a rally, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, in Prairie du Chien, Wis. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

A supporter waits for Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump to arrive at a rally, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, in Prairie du Chien, Wis. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

Supporters pose for a photo while waiting for Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump to arrive at a rally, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, in Prairie du Chien, Wis. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump arrives for a town hall event at Macomb Community College Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, in Warren, Mich. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)