BAKER CITY, Ore. — The Bureau of Land Management will offer the Durkee Fire Salvage Timber Sale of about 1.57 million board feet from across 250 public acres 12 miles southwest of Durkee in Baker County. This sale will produce enough timber to build roughly 100 homes, feed local mills, and support jobs in Oregon communities.

The Durkee Fire was a 2024 wildfire in Baker County, Oregon, sparked by a lighting strike on private property. The fire's size was approximately 294,265 acers, according to inciweb.wildfire.gov.

“These trees were damaged in the 2024 Durkee Fire and are now a safety hazard to the public enjoying our public lands,” said BLM Vale District Manager Shane DeForest. “Selling the timber mitigates those hazards, supports local jobs and converts the material to lumber and other wood products that improve life for all Americans.”

The BLM will accept sealed bids until 1 p.m. PT Aug. 4 by mail or in person at the Baker Field Office within the National Historic Oregon Trail Interpretive Center, 22267 Hwy. 86, Baker City, OR 97814. Potential purchasers should let the worker at the gate know that they are attending the auction, and they will not need to pay the usual fee to visit the interpretive center.

The BLM in Oregon manages some of the most productive forests and woodlands in the world, and is committed to supplying a reliable, secure, and resilient domestic supply of timber. BLM forestry supports economic security, reduces risk of wildfire, conserves fish and wildlife habitat, and decreases costs of energy production. Local communities rely on BLM forest jobs, and the timber from public land supplies local industry.  Each year, the BLM Oregon-Washington forestry program sales support approximately 2,000 local jobs and generate more than $1 billion for local economies.