Firefighters work tirelessly on holiday during Red Flag fire conditions
BEND,Ore (KTVZ) -- As many Central Oregonians spent the Labor Day holiday relaxing, hundreds of firefighters kept on working hard to contain or keep several wildfires contained amid a red flag warning, gusty winds, smoky skies and extreme fire conditions.
The expected winds across much of Oregon over the next couple of days are being compared to those of California’s dangerous Santa Ana winds.
Fire experts say much of the region is experiencing record dry conditions, making fuel for any new fires.
The conditions and still-spreading Lionshead Fire have prompted officials to make widespread closures in the forests and wilderness. As a result, many people had holiday weekend plans, or even their lifelong goals disrupted.
"That lifetime trip to do the PCT (Pacific Crest Trail) -- and 40 miles of that trail is now in a closure, and they have been working on identifying a detour or route for those individuals and communicating that." said Gary Jennings, deputy incident manager.
The winds, smoke and fire danger was evident late Monday when Frontier Dispatch, serving Jefferson, Gilliam, Sherman and Wheeler counties said the red flag warning means no open flames, including propane campfires and barbecues.
The forecast winds were blowing more smoke into Central Oregon, and that smoke -- and wind -- could also get in the way of some key firefighting resources, like critical air support.
Authorities say the strong winds could ultimately end up grounding air support craft, which are critical for progress on containment.
The U.S. Forest Service is warning people that illegal campfires or other prohibited burning could be even more hazardous this week.
“We really are anticipating that we are going to see extraordinary fire growth across Central Oregon," Deschutes National Forest Public Affairs Officer Kassidy Kern said.
"We've already picked up a couple of illegal campfires that maybe in a different world would have been kind of nothing at all and grew to two or three acres," Kern said. "What the problem is is, if you have something like this an illegal campfire in these conditions, it will grow."
