New wildfire SE of Hood River grows to 250 acres
(Update: Evening update from the Oregon Dept. of Forestry)
HOOD RIVER, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Wind, hot weather and dry fuels helped push a new wildfire southeast of Hood River to more than triple in size to about 250 acres by Sunday evening, Oregon Department of Forestry officials said.
Firefighters on the Fir Mountain Fire were challenged with wind and dry vegetation as they used bulldozers and hand crews to construct fire line on the fire perimeter.
Air resources, including large air tankers and water-scooping helicopters, were used throughout the day to support ground resources in efforts to control the spread of the fire.
The fire has grown to approximately 250 acres by evening, burning on private forestland and Hood River County ownership.
The fire is located eight miles southeast of Hood River, burning east from Fir Mountain Road toward Godberson Road.
Single-tree torching and spotting across the fireline has hampered efforts to secure the perimeter in some areas. Bulldozers are being used to construct fire line where the terrain allows, and hand crews are working in areas where slope limits access for equipment.
In addition to the fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters working on the fire Sunday, resources included three bulldozers, four tenders, six 20-person hand crews, five wildland fire engines and numerous overhead.
These include contract resources, Wy’East Fire, Mosier Fire, Hood River Fire, Parkdale Fire, the Mount Hood National Forest and Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area. The Hood River and Wasco counties sheriff’s offices were working with incident command to ensure public safety in the fire area.
A Type 3 Team from Central Oregon Fire Management Service was taking command of the fire Sunday evening. Resources will staff the fire tonight, taking advantage of cooler temperatures and humidity recover,y but will continue to experience strong winds on the exposed ridgetops. Firefighters will be focusing to secure existing fireline and minimize spread of the fire.
The fire was reported late Saturday night and is currently under investigation.
The fire was burning in slash piles from recent logging, as well as adjacent standing timber and smaller replanted trees.
A heavy air tanker joined the fight to help slow the fire's spread.
For more information, visit ODF's Central Oregon District website at www.ODFcentraloregon.com.
Meanwhile, in north-central Oregon, crews aided by Sherman County and area fishermen stopped forward progress Sunday of another new fire, Incident 535, which burned about two acres on Prineville BLM land near Mack's Canyon Campground along the lower Deschutes River.
