Lake County wildfire grows to 10,000 acres

The Lava Fire, 15 miles northeast of Fort Rock in northern Lake County, has grown to 10,000 acres, burning in a lava flow and a Bureau of Land Management wilderness study area, officials said.

As of Tuesday morning, officials said the fire was 25 percent contained but that they don’t expect full containment until about Aug. 15.

The fire, burning in a lava flow north of Christmas Valley, has caused road closures around the area, and traffic along the roads leading in and out of the fire area is busy.

Monday’s windy conditions challenged fire crews working to build a perimeter along the west side of the fire.

The South Central Oregon Management Partnership Type III Team with Leland Hunter as incident commander is managing the fire.

On Tuesday, firefighters planned to continue to use existing roads and burning operations to contain the fire within the WSA.

The area of work is about 24 square miles, and nearly 270 personnel were working hard to contain the fire.

Officials with the BLM’s Lakeview District advised the public there will be increased smoke in the area and fire vehicle traffic is heavy during the morning and evening hours.

The lightning-sparked blaze was spotted on Monday, July 23, and grew in large part due to successful firing operations along the existing perimeter fire lines, officials said.

That strategy was employed due to difficult terrain, making it hard for fire crews to attack the blaze directly.

The strategy planned is to continue firing along the perimeter until there is a line around the entire fire. That will cut the possibility of the fire moving out of the lava flow area and reduce the risk to firefighters, fire managers said.

Follow updates on the fire and see more photos and maps at http://www.inciweb.org/incident/3064/