Shown is the most recent evacuation map for the Elbow Creek Fire as of Friday, July 23, 2021. 

WALLOWA COUNTY — The Elbow Creek Fire has surpassed 20,000 acres, but crews fighting the blaze are starting to get an upperhand. 

During a virtual community update Thursday night, July 22, Operations Staff Chief Eric Perkins said “things are looking good right now” in some of the areas that have given firefighters a challenge this week. 

The most recent briefing on Friday, July 23, has the fire listed at 20,810 acres and 20% contained. The size of the team battling the fire is now 878, with resources from eight other states helping Oregon firefighters. 

He said that there was a lot of smoke rising from the northwest portion of the fire near Elbow Creek Thursday, but said it’s mostly from inside the fire perimeter.

“We’re actually getting a handle on it right now,” he said. “We’ve been working on the lines down toward the Grande Ronde River, we’ve been working in the Elbow Creek trying to get that fire in position where we can contain it and control it.”

Perkins said that fire progression had been “pretty much stopped” in the area of Sickfoot Creek at the southern edge of the blaze. Crews were hoping to transition to mop-up work there Friday, a press release said. 

Fire progression had also been slowed in the Grossman Creek area, and along the Grande Ronde, spread has been slowed, he said.

“We’ve been hitting this area (Grande Ronde River) all day (Thursday) with aircraft and backing it up with dozers,” Perkins said. “It’s moving slower than it has been.”

Incident Commander Link Smith said Thursday he was impressed with the size the fire has been held to. 

“Most of this fire is in really good shape,” he said, though he cautioned that “we’re not out of the woods yet. We’re in a really tough spot here in Elbow Creek.”

Mop-up continues to the north and east, and Deputy IC Les Hallman said with the fire moving away from structures and those structures being secured, some task forces would be released.

“Two of our task forces will be leaving (Friday),” he said.

Wallowa County Emergency Management late Friday morning also lowered evacuation notices for the second day in a row. Troy, which Thursday was lowered from Level 3 to Level 2, is now at a Level 1 “Get Ready.” Promise and Eden Bench, which were last at Level 3, have dropped to Level 2 “Get Set.” Additionally, the Level 1 notice in Flora has been lifted.