BEND, Ore. (AP) — Firefighters battling two of the largest blazes burning in Oregon were bracing for windy and dry conditions forecast to arrive in some areas of the state Friday and into Saturday.
Crews have been able to build some containment lines around the Akawa Butte Fire, which is burning near Sisters, a town about 22 miles (35 kilometers) northwest of Bend. Started by lightning on July 16, the fire has scorched 42 square miles (109 square kilometers) and destroyed two homes.
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Firefighters clear vegetation as the Akawa Butte fire approaches on Friday, July 24, 2026, near Sisters, Ore. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
A firefighter clears vegetation as the Akawa Butte fire approaches on Friday, July 24, 2026, near Sisters, Ore. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
A firefighter clears vegetation as the Akawa Butte fire approaches on Friday, July 24, 2026, near Sisters, Ore. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
A helicopter drops water on the Akawa Butte fire on Friday, July 24, 2026, near Sisters, Ore. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
It has been designated as the nation’s top priority wildfire because of its proximity to people. The designation will allow officials to tap into resources from other states and other countries, Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek said Friday.
Strong winds and low humidity were expected later Friday and Saturday and could lead to increased fire activity, officials warned. They urged residents to be prepared to evacuate if necessary.
The National Weather Service issued a red-flag warning in central Oregon through Saturday, which means conditions such as low humidity, warm temperatures and strong winds can create an extreme wildfire risk.
The most critical period for Sisters, a town of 3,800 people about 3 miles (5 kilometers) south of the fire, will be the next 24 to 48 hours, said Sisters Mayor Jennifer Letz. She said about half of the town's population has been told to be ready to leave if needed.
“If we can get through this weekend, we will probably be in a good position moving forward. But right now, we do have the north half of the city under orders to be prepared, to have a plan, to get their things together," she said.
There are more than 1,000 firefighters battling the blaze and more are expected to join them to help strengthen and expand containment lines. The blaze has shown extreme fire behavior, including 200-foot (61-meter) flame heights and a pyrocumulus cloud that generated its own lightning, Kotek said.
“This is all-hands-on-deck here in Oregon,” she said.
It’s not Oregon’s only significant wildfire, making this an especially challenging period for emergency responders, she said.
There are dozens more fires burning across the state, choking the air in Oregon and sending smoke across the country. Kotek said every available firefighter and firefighting resource is being used in the field.
The biggest blaze is the Rowe Creek Complex which has destroyed 300 square miles (777 square kilometers) since being sparked by lightning on July 15. It was nearly 30% contained on Friday.
Firefighters have made progress on the northern portion of the blaze, where they have built containment lines, but strong winds fueled the fire and it expanded on its southern end after spot fires jumped containment lines, said Thadd Niebel, an operations chief with the U.S. Forest Service.
Crews were being reassigned to the southern portion of the blaze to strengthen containment lines and protect homes and other buildings ahead of winds forecast to reach 20 mph (32 kph), Niebel said.
Rodriguez reported from San Francisco.
Firefighters clear vegetation as the Akawa Butte fire approaches on Friday, July 24, 2026, near Sisters, Ore. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
A firefighter clears vegetation as the Akawa Butte fire approaches on Friday, July 24, 2026, near Sisters, Ore. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
A firefighter clears vegetation as the Akawa Butte fire approaches on Friday, July 24, 2026, near Sisters, Ore. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
A helicopter drops water on the Akawa Butte fire on Friday, July 24, 2026, near Sisters, Ore. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
SpaceX’s mammoth Starship rocket blasted off Friday on another test flight stretching halfway around the world, this time releasing 20 of the most advanced Starlinks.
Towering 407 feet (124 meters), Starship soared from the company’s base at the southern tip of Texas. NASA monitored the space-skimming flight, a critical step toward using the Starship as a lunar lander for moon crews.
The hourlong journey ended with a splashdown so soft that the spacecraft remained afloat in the Indian Ocean as the SpaceX webcast drew to a close, drawing cheers from employees back at the launch site.
Elon Musk’s SpaceX had replaced six of the 33 engines on the first-stage booster after some of them failed to ignite last week, resulting in a last-second launch abort. The previous Starship flight in May also experienced engine trouble, which prevented the booster from making a controlled return.
This time, all of the engines fired at liftoff, but not enough of them lit back up for the booster's return, causing it to descend too fast and slam into the Gulf of Mexico. The spacecraft continued soaring eastward, popping out the Starlinks one by one 124 miles (200 kilometers) up before reentering.
It was the 13th flight of the world’s biggest and most powerful rocket, and the second this year of the new version dubbed V3. Like the previous demo, neither the booster nor spacecraft was meant to be saved, instead plunging into the sea.
The stainless steel, retro-looking spacecraft hovered upright over the Indian Ocean before lowering into the water, more than 10,000 miles (16,000 kilometers) from where the flight began.
It was the best reentry yet, according to SpaceX, with the intact booster floating amid just a few flames. Previous flights ended with the spacecraft engulfed in flames and exploding at splashdown — or rupturing in midair.
“We're really pumped about this,” said SpaceX engineer Kate Tice, calling it “lucky flight 13.”
The Starlinks accomplished all their jobs before reentering over the Indian Ocean.
After being ejected from the Starship’s Pez-like dispenser, the Starlinks had just 20 minutes to communicate via lasers and radio before reentering. SpaceX said its engineers made contact and even downloaded data from each one. With more than 10,000 Starlinks currently providing internet, SpaceX boasts the world’s largest satellite constellation.
Six of the newly launched Starlinks carried cameras that photographed Starship’s heat shield at flight's end, beaming back amazingly crisp shots even as the spacecraft bobbed in the ocean. The heat shield was also equipped with sensors to measure the extreme pressure placed on the spacecraft during launch. Most of the heat shield’s thermal tiles were black, but some were deliberately painted white to simulate missing tiles, part of an experiment to test the shield’s robustness.
"We got all the heat shield data we needed and then some!" Musk said on X.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman offered congratulations. “Excited for what will be learned from this mission,” Isaacman noted on X.
SpaceX wants to make sure Starship’s heat shield can withstand the heat of entry before trying to return it to the Starbase launch pad near the Texas-Mexico border. The company already has used a pair of giant mechanical arms at the pad to capture a Starship booster. The company plans to do the same with the actual spacecraft, which is designed to be totally reusable.
NASA needs Starship to wrap up testing and reach orbit soon so the Artemis III astronauts — three Americans and one Italian — can practice docking their capsule with it next year.
Starship is also the vehicle with which Musk intends to build a city on Mars. He's already booking tourist trips to Mars, as well as the moon.
The latest test flight was delayed first by the July 16 launch abort, then again on Thursday by thick clouds from Tropical Storm Bertha.
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SpaceX's mega rocket Starship lifts off for a test flight from Starbase, Texas, Friday, July 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
SpaceX's mega rocket Starship makes a test flight from Starbase, Texas, Friday, July 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
SpaceX's Starship rocket lifts off for a test flight from Starbase, Texas, Friday, July 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
SpaceX's Starship rocket lifts off for a test flight from Starbase, Texas, Friday, July 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
SpaceX's mega rocket Starship makes a test flight from Starbase, Texas, Friday, July 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
SpaceX's Starship rocket lifts off for a test flight from Starbase, Texas, Friday, July 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
The sun rises behind SpaceX's mega rocket Starship as it is prepared for a test flight from Starbase, Texas, Friday, July 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
A seagull takes flight as SpaceX's Starship rocket is prepared for a test flight from Starbase, Texas, Thursday, July 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
SpaceX's mega rocket Starship is prepared for a test flight in Starbase, Texas, Friday, July 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
The sun rises behind SpaceX's mega rocket Starship as it is prepared for a test flight from Starbase, Texas, Friday, July 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
A man jogs past SpaceX's mega rocket Starship as it is prepared for a test flight in Starbase, Texas, Friday, July 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
