A tanker drops retardant on the Cram Fire burining in Jefferson and Wasco counties on Thursday. (Submitted photo/Inciweb)

The Cram Fire in Jefferson and Wasco counties has burned four homes and other structures as it continues to burn through thousands of acres of ranch land and hilly terrain, keeping crews busy as they dealt with another day of red flag warnings.

The fire is now 94,293 acres, jumping from 77,158 the day earlier. The fire started near Willowdale last weekend and is now the largest fire in the lower 48 states.

The fire has claimed four homes and two other buildings, according to Julien Bacon, a spokesperson for Northwest Incident Management Team working on the fire. Bacon was not able to confirm the location of the burned houses.

Bonnie Richardson, a resident of northern Jefferson County, said around 17,000 acres of grazing land on her property was burned, including all of the fencing. The home and buildings on the property, including a shop dedicated to unique rocks, were spared.

“It just ripped through here,” said Richardson. “But we didn’t lose any cattle, nobody was hurt and we didn’t lose our home so I think we are better off than some,” said Richardson.

Richardson said one of her neighbors was not as fortunate and lost her home along with most of the outbuildings.

As of Friday, 653 total structures were threatened, including 563 homes, said Bacon. Around 90 homes are in the Level 3-Go Now evacuation order areas. More than 700 personnel are working to put out the fire.

“We have wildland folks out there as well as structure specific crews that are providing strategic point protection on structures,” said Bacon.

Temperatures in the Madras area were expected to remain elevated again Friday, with a high of 91 degrees, before a cooling trend begins this weekend. By Monday the high in the area will dip to 75 degrees.

Level 3-Go Now evacuations orders for the fire stretch from areas east of Madras to the John Day River. The Deer Ridge Correctional Facility marks the western edge of the evacuation order but the prison itself is not being evacuated.

The town of Ashwood remains under threat, said Simone Cordery-Cotter, a spokesperson for the Oregon Department of State Fire Marshal. It is located on the eastern perimeter of the fire. She said no communities south of the fire were under threat as of Friday.

In Madras, the Jefferson County Middle School is serving as an evacuation site for residents impacted by the fire. The Jefferson County Fair still planned to start on Wednesday, according to Fairgrounds Complex Manager Bart Platt.

The fire front moved south on Thursday toward the Trout Creek area. Directly engaging the fire was challenging due to high heat and windy conditions. Fire crews are working on Friday in areas south of Route 293. Lower evacuation levels (Level 1 and Level 2) have now been established in northern Crook County.

“We are going to see a lot of extreme and aggressive fire behavior, it is spotting up to a tenth of a mile and winds are proving to be challenging. We are putting a lot of heavy equipment and assets on the ground and in the air to secure the south edge of the fire,” she said.

“The weather should moderate on Saturday. It will cool a little bit. We are hoping to have more success in putting additional lines around the fire on Saturday.”