South Junction fire shuts Hwy. 97; Boxcar Fire at 23,000 acres

(Update: Boxcar Fire grows to 23,000 acres;; South Junction Fire at 5,000 acres, closes Hwy. 97)

Friday’s heat and winds pushed the Boxcar Fire south of Maupin to 23,000 acres, while a new blaze, the South Canyon, Fire quickly burned 5,000 acres and closed Highway 97 near the junction with Highway 197, which also remained closed, officials said Friday night.

Boxcar Fire

The Boxcar Fire, one of many lightning-sparked fires, was 10 percent contained by Friday evening, according to Central Oregon Interagency Dispatch.

Burnouts from roads have been done to contain the fire and protect the town of Maupin. Along with Highway 197, the Deschutes River Access Road south of Maupin was closed and Bakeoven Road was closed intermittently.

For most of the day, the fire moved south and east away from Maupin and the Deschutes River corridor; however, around 3 p.m. the fire jumped Bakeoven Canyon and was moving back north and west toward Maupin, threatening homes. Dozer line has been put in on the top of canyon protecting recreation areas along the Deschutes River.

Campers have been asked to leave four campgrounds (Wapinita, Harpham Flat, Longbend and Devil’s Canyon) located south of Maupin.The campgrounds are not officially closed; however, in the interest of safety, people are being asked to not camp in the area at this time. At this moment, rafters can still access Harpham Flat to launch boats into the river, but depending on wind direction people need to be prepare.

Highway 197 from the junction with Highway 97 is closed up to Maupin. The public should go to the Oregon Department of Transportation’s Trip Check www.tripcheck.com website to get the latest updates. A Type 2 Incident Management Team (IMT) will begin managing the fire after a transition with the Type 3 Team currently on the fire.

South Junction Fire

Not far away, a new brushfire raced across about 5,000 acres west of the Highway 97/197 junction late Friday, closing a stretch of Highway 97 due to smoke near the junction and threatening structures and power lines. Check the latest traffic conditions at KTVZ.COM’s TripCheck page.

The South Junction Fire was being battled by rural fire agencies and ranchers, with federal resources also responding, according to the Central Oregon Interagency Dispatch Center’s Twitter feed. The fire was about 13 miles south-southwest of Shaniko.

A strike team of engines was requested to help fight the wind-driven fire, which officials said could push into the south end of the 18,000-acre Box Canyon Fire burning south of Maupin.

The fire also was expected to close South Junction Campground, and officials advised Deschutes River rafters headed to Trout Creek to watch for rapidly changing conditions

Graham Fire

The Graham Fire was at 50 percent containment and 2,055 acres, four miles south of the Metolius River arm of Lake Billy Chinook, near Culver. The fire is burning primarily on private land protected by the Oregon Department of Forestry and Lake Chinook Fire and Rescue. Numerous homes are threatened in the Three Rivers subdivision and a Level 3 (GO) is still in place by the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office for the entire subdivision. For more information on the Graham Fire, people can go to inciweb.nwcg.gov.

People still can access the Forest Service’s Monty and Perry South campgrounds on the Metolius Arm if they come from Camp Sherman along the Metolius River, rather than from coming through Culver and Lake Billy Chinook.

Jack Knife

The Jack Knife Fire was reported late Friday morning and was burning in an area three miles west of the John Day River and 5 miles northeast of Kent. The approximately 1,000-acre fire was burning in grass and brush. Aerial resources, primarily air tankers are helping with the fire along with 3 engines, 3 smokejumpers and a 20-person hand crew. There are several structures, primarily outbuildings, threatened.

Several small fires were reported near Crane Prairie, west of Bend. The fires were responded to and were contained. There were other small fires throughout the area that were responded to and were contained.

Friday evening, crews tackled a small, 1- to 2-acre fire burning about 3/4 of a mile north of the Tetherow Crossing neighborhood northwest of Redmond. Several engine crews were on scene to tackle the fire burning in brush and juniper.

The Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office said no evacuation notices were in place.