A rapidly spreading blaze on the northern edge of Oregon, called the Rowena fire, ignited Wednesday, destroying 20 homes, shutting down a section of a highway and causing authorities to declare evacuation orders. By Thursday morning, the wind-driven fire had grown to 3,500 acres and was zero percent contained.

“Fueled by seasonably record-low fuel moistures and gusty winds, the fire poses a serious and ongoing threat to lives, property and critical infrastructure,” the Oregon State Fire Marshal said in a statement Thursday.

The blaze was reported Wednesday afternoon next to the Columbia River, which flows on the border with the state of Washington.

By 8 p.m., it had burned about 2,500 acres after tripling in size within roughly an hour, Oregon’s Department of Emergency Management said.

The Wasco County Sheriff’s Office ordered residents in more than 730 homes in the surrounding area to evacuate and closed a section of Interstate 84.

— The New York Times