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Good morning, Northwest.

The Fox Fire in eastern Oregon has burned more than 76,000 acres and is now about halfway contained, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. Among the communities hardest hit is Huntington, a town of about 500 people near the Idaho border.

OPB Eastern Oregon correspondent Monica Carrillo-Casas traveled to Huntington to see how residents — many of them elderly — and local officials responded to the wildfire and are now coping with its aftermath.

Here’s your First Look at Saturday’s news.

— Winston Szeto

Top story

3 homes razed, a firefighter hurt and a town spared: Eastern Oregon community faces Fox Fire aftermath

Wearing a green bucket hat and holding a beer, Dave Jeter, 78, walked toward a patchwork of ash and debris. Smoke crested the horizon while the smell of a now-distant fire lingered around what was once his home in Huntington, Oregon.

The home he built in a canyon hugging the Snake River on the Oregon-Idaho border, where he’s lived for 13 years, was a smoldering pile. His place was one of three homes in rural Baker County that burned along the Snake River July 25.

This fast-moving grass fire also led to three days of Level 3 “Go Now!” evacuation of Huntington itself, a town of roughly 500 residents. Evacuation levels were lowered to Level 2 “Be Set” Tuesday afternoon after the Fox Fire changed direction. Locals are now grappling with the aftermath in a tight-knit community. (Monica Carrillo-Casas)

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3 things to know

1. Red flag warnings will cover nearly all of Oregon and Washington east of the Cascades starting today. As officials continue to update the public, fire crews have worked all week to mitigate the impact of the dangerous fire weather expected this weekend. (Casey Frizzell and Amanda Linares)
2. Salem-Keizer School District announced plans yesterday to close up to eight elementary schools before the 2027-2028 school year begins. (Elizabeth Miller)
3. Portland General Electric is proposing to raise its residential rates by nearly 4% next summer. (Monica Samayoa)

Northwest headlines

• Gov. Kotek seeks federal aid for Oregon farmers, ranchers caught in throes of wildfires (Alejandro Figueroa)
• Umatilla County sheriff arrested for drunk driving last year broke state policing standards, report says (Troy Brynelson)
• Seattle police closing in on another suspect in Seattle Center mass shooting (Katie Campbell, KUOW)
• In fiscal crisis, Southern Oregon University adopts budget to plan for major cuts (Jane Vaughan, JPR)
• Springfield agrees to pay $700,000 settlement over police response to 2020 protest (Nathan Wilk, KLCC)
• Northwest’s yanked ocean observatories start to return to sea (John Ryan, KUOW)
• Fever beat Fire 112-98 as rallies over transgender athletes unfold outside Portland’s Moda Center (Anne M. Peterson, Associated Press)
• What could happen in the hotly contested Central Washington US House race (Courtney Flatt, Northwest Public Broadcasting)

One more look

Superabundant recipe: Ricotta gnudi with heirloom tomatoes and basil

Summer ingredients all seem bespoke for rustic pasta dishes, but when it comes to making pasta by hand, there are far simpler approaches than lugging the pasta machine out of storage.

In fact, these ricotta gnudi with fresh tomato-basil sauce bring summer to your table with just a few simple ingredients and no special equipment at all.(Heather Arndt Anderson)

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News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2026/08/01/huntington-reels-fox-fire-opb-first-look/