Intense thunderstorms spark dozens of fires
(Update: Friday report on new fires; Glass Buttes Fire at 30 acres)
A new round of intense thunderstorms Thursday night delivered more than 600 lightning strikes across Central Oregon, starting at least 58 new wildfires, all but one of which has been stopped very small, officials said Friday.
Through quick response and suppression efforts, firefighters have kept all but one of the new fire starts at less than an acre. The Glass Buttes Fire, a grass fire 85 miles southeast of Bend on Prineville District BLM land, was estimated at 30 acres Friday morning.
Several local and assisting agency resources are fanned out across Central Oregon suppressing new starts Friday, assisted by the heavy precipitation received Thursday night in many areas across the region.
Multiple aviation resources are standing by at the Redmond Air Center and Prineville Helibase to assist with suppression efforts, including helicopters, rappellers, air tankers and smokejumpers. Fire managers will use aircraft throughout the day to continue searching for more lightning starts.
One new lightning start detected Thursday about 10 miles south of Bend, near Ikt Butte on the Bend-Fort Rock Ranger District of Deschutes National Forest, called Incident 876, was about a half acre in size, burning in a 33-acre kipuka (a forested area completely surrounded by lava flows).
Fire managers said have assessed the burn potential and the risk to public and firefighter safety in suppressing this fire, and have determined that the best course of action is to monitor and confine the fire within the boundary of the lava flows.
Continued monitoring and reassessments will take place until the fire is determined out.
On the Ochoco National Forest, the 5,072-acre Canyon 66 prescribed burn received substantial rain, which helped to dampen interior burning. While all ignitions are complete, firefighters remained on scene Friday to mitigate hazards and mop up along the unit perimeter.
Forest Service Road 22 is reopened to the public, but motorists may encounter firefighters and heavy equipment working along the road. Some smoldering and smoke will continue through the weekend.
A slight chance of more thunderstorms with lightning and rain is forecast through the weekend, and fire managers expect to discover more lightning starts over the coming days.
” Fire resources will continue to patrol, detect, and suppress wildfires to the best of their ability, managing fatigue and workload appropriately, ” officials said in Friday’s update.
For current Central Oregon wildfire and prescribed fire information visit www.centraloregonfire.org or follow on Twitter: @ CentralORFire .
The dramatic, thunderous series of storms sent hundreds of lightning bolts flashing down onto the High Desert Thursday afternoon and evening ..
Hail and intense downpours also accompanied the thunderstorms in some places, followed by scenic, colorful sunsets that many captured on camera and shared with us at the Share tab at KTVZ.COM.
