Storms spark C.O. fires, send mud across Hwy. 242

(Update: Lightning sparks small blazes; mud covers, closes Hwy. 242 near McKenzie Pass)

A string of thunderstorms rumbled through Central Oregon with hundreds of lightning strikes that sparked more than a dozen small wildfires and heavy rain that sent mud pouring across the McKenzie Highway west of Sisters, closing a road that only reopened two days earlier after cleanup and repairs from a destructive wildfire.

The National Weather Service said the scattered storms continued into the evening over the Oregon and Washington Cascades, bringing heavy rain, frequent lightning, gusty winds and small hail.

Firefighters across the High Desert responded to 16 incidents after about 500 lightning strikes from the storms, officials said. All were held to a single tree, aided by the area’s heavy rain, Forest Service spokeswoman Kassidy Kern said.

One of the fires, Incident 391, was contained in a roughly four-acre opening in the lava flow by Lava Island Falls on the east side of the Deschutes River, southwest of Deschutes River Woods. Kern said it was contained and will be monitored until it’s controlled (declared out).

West of Sisters, state Highway 242, the Old McKenzie Highway, was closed at both the eaast and west gates due to 1-2 feet of mud coursing over the roadway after heavy rain. ODOT was on scene helping motorists leave the area — one apparently got stuck and needed to be towed, spokesman Peter Murphy said. Crews were back doing more cleanup on the closed road Thursday, he said.

The road only reopened Monday after being closed since late last summer due to the Milli Fire burning through the area. The fire-scorched earth not only creates a different travel experience and prompted repairs but also means heavy rains can raise the potential for mudslides and flooding.

Central Electric Cooperative reported shortly before 4 p.m. that a breaker had opened at CEC’s Cline Falls substation and that just over 2,000 members had lost power. Power was restored before 5:30 p.m., and co-op officials said the cause was traced to lightning striking a piece of equipment near CEC’s Tumalo substation.

Pacific Power also reported scattered outages, though the largest, affecting about 600 people, involved a driver who backed into a utility box, according to Prineville police.

The Redmond area reported quarter-inch hail and heavy rain with gusty winds, according to an amateur radio (ham) operator.

The storms cooled things down fast on the last day of spring. Bend Airport reported a peak temperature of 86 degree around 1:30 – it was down to 66 degrees by 4:30.

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