Fire on Umpqua, Deschutes forests reaches 120 acres

The Butte Fire, which broke out on the Diamond Lake Ranger District of the Umpqua National Forest late Tuesday afternoon near Windigo Butte, has grown to 120 acres, spreading onto the Deschutes National Forest, officials said Thursday.

The fire, north of the Mt. Thielsen Wilderness Area, grew by about 45 acres Wednesday, they said.

The blaze has closed about 12 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail. The trail closure on the south begins near Miller Mountain and ends near Cow Horn Mountain in the north. A Type 2 Incident Management Team is now managing the fire.

The fire is burning in steep terrain with dead and down timber and is challenging firefighting efforts due to a lack of safety zones and lookouts.

The specifics of the road and trail closures due to the Butte Fire include:

• Pacific Crest Trail 2000 is closed at intersection of Trail 2000 and 3641 (Willamette National Forest) southeast to intersection of Trail 2000 and 1466 (Umpqua National Forest).

• Forest Service Road 60 from junction of Road 60 and 6000-700 (Umpqua National Forest) to junction of FS Road 60 and 6020 (Deschutes National Forest).

• Forest Service Trail 1412 is closed at intersection of Trail 1412 and Pacific Crest Trail southwest to junction of Trail 1412 and 1445 (Umpqua National Forest).

• Forest Service Trail 1455 is closed from FS Road 60 to junction of Trail 1494 (Umpqua National Forest).

• Forest Service Trail 2845 is closed from junction of Trail 3845 and 3846 southwest to junction of FS Road 60

For more information about the Pacific Crest Trail closure, people can go to http://www.pcta.org. For up to date information on the Butte fire http://inciweb.org.