The Milli Fire was located in the Sister's Wilderness Area, on the Deschutes National Forest. This fire was lightning caused and continues to burn into September.
Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
The episode as NWS PDT wrote it up.
The Milli Fire was located in the Sister's Wilderness Area, on the Deschutes National Forest. This fire was lightning caused and continues to burn into September. This fire caused the evacuations of some rural subdivisions near Sisters, Oregon.
The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Pendleton, OR wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Aug 11, 1:32 PM PST, 13 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Pendleton OR
232 PM PDT Fri Aug 11 2017
.SHORT TERM...Tonight through Monday night...We are in the final
stages of the upper level ridge that has been parked over the region
for the past couple of weeks. The ridge will move off to the east
allowing an upper level trough off the coast to move inland over the
weekend. This will usher in cooler air beginning tomorrow with highs
staying below 100 degrees thus today will be the final day of the
heat advisory. Significantly cooler air will arrive Sunday and
Monday as the trough settles over the region with highs only in the
70s and 80s.
A small weak shortwave with its remnant of moisture will pass over
the forecast area today and overnight. This will provide some
isolated to scattered thunderstorm activity across portions of the
forecast area at times. The approaching upper level trough will push
the convective potential over to the eastern mountains Saturday
afternoon then exit the area overnight. The approaching trough will
also push a cold front into the area late Saturday night and Sunday
which will usher in the much cooler air and breezy westerly winds.
Even though it is still summer in which most cold fronts are dry the
weather models continue to indicate the front will have a band of
precipitation associated with it as it passes over the forecast
area. Thus the pops for Sunday have been updated to reflect this.
Cool yet dry conditions will prevail on Monday.
Air Quality will begin to improve Saturday and Sunday as the weather
pattern changes bring back westerly winds which will push the smoke
and haze out of the region. However, smoke from local fires will
still be an issue going forward.
.LONG TERM...Tuesday through Friday night...A flat high pressure
ridge over the NE Pacific on Tuesday will gradually increase in
amplitude as it approaches the coast through Wednesday night. This
mid/upper level pressure pattern will provide westerly to
northwesterly flow aloft over the interior Pacific Northwest
resulting in sinking motion east of the Cascades, which keeps dry
conditions through Wednesday night. The ridge then moves inland
around daybreak on Thursday and across the forecast area Thursday
afternoon/evening. The ridge will push eastward with the ridge axis
moving into Idaho overnight thus yielding winds aloft backing from
west to southwest during the day on Friday. Relative humidity in the
mid levels will be too low to support moist convection leading to
showers on Friday for a continuation of dry conditions areawide
through Friday night. Polan
&&
.AVIATION...18Z TAFs...VFR conditions will prevail through the
period. Occasional MVFR visibilities due to FU and HZ from area
wildfires will continue at KPDT, KALW and KPSC. Moisture combined
with daytime heating will produce some thunderstorms in the vcnty of
KRDM and KBDN through the afternoon and evening hours. Isolated to
widely scattered thunderstorms will continue in Central and east
Central Oregon and spread northeast across the Blue Mountains this
afternoon. Winds will be less than 10kt through much of today,
except at KDLS where northwest winds will be increasing to 15kt with
gusts to 25kt possible this afternoon. Polan
&&
.FIRE WEATHER...A disturbance will ride to the north and northeast
this evening, with scattered thunderstorms as far north as the
Oregon Columbia Basin/Gorge. Thus, will continue the Red Flag
Warnings for most of northern OR through this evening. Another round
of scattered thunderstorms is expected Saturday mainly over the
higher elevations as the greatest forcing shifts to the east. Red
Flag Warnings continue for Saturday aftn/evening from the Central OR
highlands northeastward to the WA Blue Mountains. Breezy conditions
will be likely tonight and Saturday, and once again Sunday afternoon
and night, but with humidities increasing, no wind/RH highlights
will be issued.
&&
.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
PDT 67 95 63 83 / 10 20 20 20
ALW 71 96 65 83 / 10 20 20 20
PSC 62 98 66 85 / 10 20 10 20
YKM 66 97 61 83 / 10 20 10 20
HRI 65 97 64 84 / 10 20 10 20
ELN 65 94 63 80 / 20 20 10 20
RDM 57 90 51 81 / 30 20 10 10
LGD 52 93 59 80 / 20 20 30 20
GCD 57 92 56 81 / 30 20 30 10
DLS 77 92 66 81 / 20 20 10 20
&&
.PDT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
OR...Red Flag Warning until 10 PM PDT this evening for ORZ610-611-
639>642-644.
Heat Advisory until 8 PM PDT this evening for ORZ041-044-507.
Red Flag Warning from noon to 11 PM PDT Saturday for ORZ640-
642>645.
WA...Heat Advisory until 8 PM PDT this evening for WAZ024-026>029.
Red Flag Warning from noon to 11 PM PDT Saturday for WAZ643-645.
&&
91/99/99The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
Inciweb.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Oregon in 2017Every state in 2017This day in weather historyWarnings in Oregon, August 2017
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 717027.