Fireworks spark Round Butte blaze as crews fight lightning fires

While nearly 250 firefighters battled a nearly 4,100-acre wildfire north of Dayville in Sunday’s heat and evacuated residents returned home, officials said juveniles playing with fireworks sparked a two-acre fire on Round Butte, five miles southwest of Madras.

Crews responding from the Prineville BLM and Jefferson County quickly contained the fire, but the Central Oregon Interagency Dispatch Center said it served as a reminder how quickly fireworks can start a fire.

Fireworks should only be ignited by an adult, in safe areas clear of vegetation, and only where they are legally allowed. Restrictions vary by city and county, so you’re urged to verify local regulations before using fireworks.

Crews also responded to a new lightning-started blaze, Incident 283, on the east end of the Maury Mountains, east of Prineville, initially reported at acre. The third new fire reported Sunday was a single-tree blaze south of milepost 53 on Highway 20.

Thunderstorms were tracking north late Sunday through Crook and Wheeler counties, so more fires may emerge over the next several days, officials said.

Heavy smoke lifted Sunday over the region’s largest fire of the weekend, the Sugarloaf Fire, allowing it to be mapped by a helicopter crew at 4,095 acres, somewhat smaller than an earlier 5,500-acre estimate.

The fire eight miles north of Dayville continued to grow to the south, burning in a mix of shrub and light grass. Residents in the Dick Creek Road area who were evacuated Saturday were allowed back to their homes, but warned to be ready to leave if conditions changed again.

Crews were making progress with a fire line, and the fire was 20 percent contained by late Sunday. One firefighter suffered from dehydration Sunday but received treatment and was doing well.

The Sugarloaf Fire, on private and BLM land, burned a vehicle and outbuilding, and with several other structures in the area threatened, residents in the Dick Creek Road area were evacuated Saturday by Grant County sheriff’s deputies. No injuries have been reported. Sunday’s update said.

A Type 2 incident management team was set to assume command of the fire Monday morning and a fire camp was established in Dayville.

Sunday’s efforts followed a busy Saturday tackling 21 mostly small wildfires sparked by Friday night’s thunderstorm in record-breaking heat.

Redmond hit 100 degrees Saturday, breaking a June 27 record of 96, set in 2006. Records also fell across the region – some even for the month of June — as Pasco and Hanford sizzled at 111 degrees, Walla Walla at 109, Yakima at 108 and The Dalles 107. Redmond also tied its record Friday with a 101-degree high, while Madras hit 100, breaking its June 26 record of 99 degrees, set in 1987.

Another Central Oregon fire that prompted concern early Saturday afternoon was tackled fast and burned less than 10 acres on the Ochoco National Forest about 15 miles northeast of Prineville, near Wildcat Mountain and the Mill Creek Wilderness Area. Officials said crews were able to get a handle on that blaze and were able to keep it fairly small.

Firefighters made good progress on a pair of fires more than 50 miles east of Bend.

The Buck Creek Fire, 18 miles northeast of Hampton, held at 250 acres Sunday and had been 90 percent contained. The Bear Creek Fire, seven miles south of Prineville Reservoir near Bear Creek Butte, held at 30 acres and was fully contained Sunday.

To the south, two fires that broke out near Paulina Lake put up very visible smoke columns Saturday, as they burned in heavy timber, but were easily contained and kept small, each burning about an acre.

The threat of human-caused fire was evident Saturday as Jefferson County Fire District crews doused an abandoned campfire on the Crooked River National Grasslands, northeast of Madras.

Fire Chief Brian Huff said crews kept it from extending into the surrounding brush. He also urged everyone to be “very cautious with anything that could cause or spread a fire. Contact the fire authority for the area that you want to have a campfire to get information on fire restrictions.”

Elsewhere in the state, Also, the lightning-caused Buckskin Fire, reported June 11 burning 10 miles southwest of Cave Junction, was at 5,345 acres and 60 percent contained, officials said. Another lightning-sparked fire reported Friday, the Bunker Hill Fire 30 miles southeast of Oakridge, was at 150 acres and still zero percent contained.

On the Willamette National Forest, about 20 smoke columns were reported and a dozen fires confirmed Saturday.

The most visible was the Blue Canyon Fire, on the north side of Highway 126, just across from the McKenzie River Ranger District in Rainbow. Another fire burned on the east arm of Cougar Reservoir.

In south-Central Oregon, lightning activity Friday was concentrated heaviest over Crater Lake National Park and along the Highway 97 corridor. Six new blazes were discovered before dark Friday, the largest the Lightning Springs Fire in Crater Lake National Park, at just over an acre.

Fortunately, Saturday’s lightning intensity was lower than predicted, as seven small new fires were tackled in the area overseen by the South Central Oregon Fire Management Partnership. Officials said all the fires reported Friday and Saturday were caught and contained, but the lightning threat continued Sunday.