CTUIR Declares State of Emergency Due to Hagen Fire

MISSION – The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR) Board of Trustees (BOT) on July 22 declared a state of emergency, which will remain effective until conditions significantly improve, due to multiple active wildfires within Umatilla County and along the exterior boundaries of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (UIR).

The CTUIR is in imminent risk of fire danger related to the Hagen Fire near the Umatilla Indian Reservation’s (UIR) eastern boundary on Bingham Road as well as a public health emergency related to persistent and continuous poor air quality. 

The declaration states that local resources are at capacity and cannot handle additional fire threats, prompting the CTUIR to declare a state of emergency in order to request state and federal resources.

The declaration activates the CTUIR Emergency Management Plan, which will meet daily and is working with the Oregon Department of Human Services, Umatilla County Public Health, American Red Cross and Umatilla County Emergency Management. As part of that collaboration, an emergency shelter with clean air has been established at Sunridge Middle School at 700 S.W. Runnion Ave. in Pendleton.

CTUIR Emergency Management officials said the CTUIR is leaving firefighting aspects to local, state and federal entities. For the latest information on the Hagen Fire, download the Watch Duty app. For the latest information about evacuation levels, visit https://umatillacounty.net/

The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation is comprised of the Cayuse, Walla Walla and Umatilla Tribes, and formed under the Treaty of 1855 at the Walla Walla Valley, 12 Stat. 945. In 1949, the Tribes adopted a constitutional form of government to protect, preserve and enhance the reserved treaty rights guaranteed under federal law.