Ewing WOW Burning Crusade Classic Gold shared photographs on Facebook of the nearby fire orange glow, and trees going up on a nearby hillside -- how neighboring was hard to tell in the dark.

"Wow -- it is a nightmare," he wrote, observing fire crews head up the highway.

Scenes such as that were being repeated across much of the country, as a predicted windstorm came to pass amid high fire threat, sending trees toppling onto homes and highways and causing wildfires to spread fast, including one that shut off 97 north of Chiloquin.

By late Monday night, based on ODOT TripCheck, a nearly 70-mile stretch of Highway 22, west from the junction with Highway 20, was closed due to the fires and downed trees. State Highway 126 was closed by a wildfire, four miles west of McKenzie Bridge.

ODOT advised early Tuesday the wildfires had shut a nearly 70-mile stretch (milepost 82 to 13) of country Highway 22 between Stayton along with the Santiam Junction with Highway 20, along with a 26-mile stretch (milepost 28-54) of state Highway 126 (that the McKenzie Highway) between Vida and state Highway 242.

"Evacuations are underway in the two regions," they counseled. "Watch for fire crews."

Forecasters and fire officials had cautioned days the"wind event" was likely to cause destruction -- and it did, with downed trees stranding many drivers until the streets could be cleared, along with the spreading wildfires.

Ewing said early Tuesday that following the Highway 22 closure amid Level 3 evacuations from the area -- such as Idanha, Gates and Detroit -- motorists were return to Salem and could head over buy Burning Crusade Classic Gold Santiam Pass on U.S. Highway 20.