This week’s cooler temperatures and forecast rain in places are welcome signs for the more than 900 firefighters still working to fully contain several fires burning on the Willamette National Forest, officials said in Wednesday’s update.
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Firefighters on Monday reached 25% containment of the day-old Trout Creek Fire that raced across 1,550 acres of private ranchland about 10 miles northeast of Madras, officials said.
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At the first sign of fire, Forest Service staff get boots on the ground to see what areas need to be closed. Casey Andrews, dispersed recreation team lead for the Deschutes National Forest, says they block off trails, create detours, and sweep the affected areas for hikers.
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The Petes Lake Fire in the Three Sisters Wilderness that more than quadrupled in size in a day to over 2,000 acres Friday saw more growth Saturday amid hot, dry and windy conditions, reaching 2,550 acres, according to new infrared flight mapping Sunday, delayed due to smoky conditions.
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The Lookout Fire on the Willamette National Forest put up much more smoke again this weekend due to the hot, windy conditions, but containment lines held on the more than month-old blaze, still 50% contained, and cooler weather will help them continue mop-up and other work.
Continue ReadingBy KPTV Staff Click here for updates on this story PORTLAND Oregon (KPTV) — A 3-alarm commercial fire that started early Saturday morning in Clackamas County has triggered ‘shelter in place’ orders for people living near the burning fiberglass plant, according to the Clackamas Fire Department. Firefighters responded in the early hours of Saturday to
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Preliminary findings in the investigation of the August 20 Juniper Creek Fire that prompted Level 3 evacuations west of Lake Billy Chinook indicate that the fire cause was consistent with target shooting, the Oregon Department of Forestry said Friday.
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– It’s now been 20 years since the B&B Complex Fire — two big fires that merged into a giant one — exploded in the Deschutes National Forest near the Cascades crest and Santiam Pass.
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ODOT reopened Oregon Highway 242, the McKenzie Highway, Tuesday morning following reductions in Lookout Fire evacuation levels. A 15-mile stretch of the highway was closed nearly a month ago, on August 18, due to activity from the Lookout Fire, which has burned over 24,000 acres but is now 50% contained.
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The Cascade Lakes Highway reopened Saturday with a pilot car escort between Elk and Lava lakes after a closure for several days so crews on the Petes Lake Fire could create a shaded fuel break along the west side of the highway.
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The Bald Mountain Fire Lookout is the tallest lookout tower on the Fremont-Winema Forest. Ron Rommel has been staffing the tower since 2019.
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The Umatilla County Sheriff’s Office on Monday dropped Level 3 “Go Now” evacuation orders near the Bensel Fire that broke out Sunday in Hermiston, prompting Gov. Tina Kotek to invoke the Emergency Conflagration Act, allowing the state fire marshal to mobilize firefighter task forces from around the state to protect life and property.
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(Update: Adding Thursday update, reduced acreage) Shaded fuel break being created along Cascade Lakes Highway SISTERS, Ore. (KTVZ) – Due to the rugged terrain, safe access issues and the location in a wilderness area, Petes Lake fire officials have decided to shift to a more indirect approach to putting out the blaze, they said Thursday.
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Three small spot fires from the Lookout Fire were discovered Wednesday morning east of Highway 126 and four miles north of Belknap Springs, prompting ODOT to close the highway between U.S. Highway 20 on the north and state Highway 242 to the south for several hours.
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A new wildfire southeast of Wasco in north-central Oregon raced across more than 2,300 acres on both sides of the John Day River on Tuesday, prompting closure of a state highway and nearby Cottonwood Canyon State Park, but crews stopped the blaze and officials said both reopened Wednesday.
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Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek has invoked the Emergency Conflagration Act for the 71,000-acre Smith River Complex at the California-Oregon border to allow the Oregon State Fire Marshal to mobilize structural firefighting resources to protect life and property.
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The two largest fires among 14 sparked by lightning in what’s now being managed as the Tyee Ridge Complex merged over the weekend in northwest Douglas County as the blazes have grown to nearly 2,900 acres, with 5% containment, officials said Monday.
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The lightning-sparked Camp Creek Fire on the Mt. Hood National Forest has grown to about 1,600 acres, burning in the Bull Run Watershed that serves about 1 million Portland-area residents, but better weather limited its growth on Sunday, officials said.
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As Central Oregon continues to deal with unhealthy smoke levels from fires to our west, firefighters tackling the Lookout, Bedrock and other fires on the Willamette National Forest are reporting more progress on containing them, while also tackling new blazes sparked by recent lightning.
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More than 2,000 lightning strikes hit the Northwest Thursday night and early Friday, sending numerous initial-attack crews out to reported fires and prompting officials to plead for extra caution to prevent human-caused blazes.
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