BURNS, Ore. (AP) – Cement barriers block off streets around the county courthouse in the small eastern Oregon town of Burns where police from around the state have set up a command center in response to a standoff at a nearby wildlife refuge.
About 30 miles to the south, an armed group protesting federal land use policy has taken over a national wildlife refuge. Men carrying what appear to be military-style rifles scan the snow-covered rangeland from atop an old fire lookout that gives them a sweeping view of roads leading in.
As the standoff at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge hits the two-week mark, people in this high desert area are growing increasingly weary and wary.
“If we all keep a calm about us everything will be OK,” said Brenda Pointere, who was coming out of a Burns restaurant. “It started out calm, but the longer it goes on – you start to hear rumors.”
It started Jan. 2 as a protest about two area ranchers convicted of arson who were returned to prison to serve longer sentences. Afterward, a group led by Ammon Bundy traveled to occupy the refuge to protest the ranchers return to prison and demand that the 300-square-mile refuge be turned over to local control.