Red Flag Warning Lifted; Storms Skip Area

The National Weather Service dropped its Red Flag Warning for areas of the High Desert Monday night as thunderstorms failed to materialize, providing a welcome breather for firefighters who have tackled several large blazes in recent days.

A few thunderstorms developed south of Central Oregon, but dissipated as they approached southern Deschutes and Grant counties Monday evening, forecasters said.

The rest of the week promises sunny skies and temperatures in the mid to upper 80s, perhaps even 90 by the weekend, according to NewsChannel 21’s Shanna Mendiola.

The threat of new lightning-sparked wildfires came just as fire crews made good progress on large fires burning in Central Oregon.

The 5,650-acre Brown Road Fire burning nine miles north of Maupin on the east side of the Lower Deschutes River improved to 90 percent containment late Sunday, with full containment expected by Wednesday. Crews spent Sunday working to hold and improve the fire perimeter and mop up any hot spots.

Firefighters were being released, with the fire being turned over to Prineville BLM Monday by the incident management team called in to the blaze. About 50 firefighters will continue to work the fire, officials said.

Camping restrictions on Segment 3 of the Lower Deschutes were lifted at 7 p.m., Sunday and visitors again will be able to stay overnight at campsites between Buck Hollow and Macks Canyon.

Meanwhile, the Sutton Mountain Fires (Chapman Springs and Caroll Rim) had a small amount of growth Sunday, with total acreage (they burned together earlier) at 4,200. Firefighters made significant progress securing the perimeter and the fire was 70 percent contained late Sunday.

In addition, a 3,900-acre wildfire, known as Incident 312, burning on private, unprotected rangeland near Teller Butte, east of Madras was being monitored by fire officials. Officials said it was not on land that was threatening any structures or near public lands where agency firefighters would become involved.

Fire officials reminded visitors amid hot, dry weather to use caution while recreating in Central Oregon. While the exact cause remains under investigation, the Brown Road fire is believed to be human-caused.

?The rapid spread from a small point of ignition to several thousand acres in an afternoon demonstrates how dry the vegetation is and how quickly a fire can move,? the Sunday update from Central Oregon Interagency Dispatch Center stated.

Meanwhile, Project Wildfire reminded residents to be prepared this fire season by creating and maintaining defensible space around their properties.

Segment 3 of the river, which runs from Buck Hollow to Macks Canyon, reopened to boating at 9 p.m. Saturday.

Segment 3 of the lower Deschutes had been shut to rafters earlier Saturday due to the presence of large “Type I” helicopters carrying 8,000 to 20,000 pounds of water in their buckets, as well as rolling rocks on the river access road and the large number of helicopters working in the area.

An incident management team was moved over from the more than 3,800-acre Deadman Canyon Fire northeast of Madras, which was declared fully contained at 7 a.m. Saturday, Clark said.

The Brown Road Fire was reported around 1:30 p.m. Thursday, burning in grass and shrubs in the steep canyon on the east side of the lower Deschutes, moving quickly upslope from the bottom of the canyon to the rim above the river. Sherman County Rural Fire District was part of the unified command attacking the fire, Clark said.

The day the fire broke out, campgrounds on river Segment 3 were evacuated and closed. That included all eight campgrounds, from Buck Hollow north (downriver) to Macks Canyon, Clark said Friday. Day use is still permitted, she said, and boaters are allowed to park their vehicles for shuttle.

Several campgrounds were evacuated around the Pine Tree rafter put-in point, in the area where the fire began Clark said, as the fire burned in a southeasterly direction.

The fire also jumped state Highway 216, forcing its closure from the river east to Brown Road, for public safety and due to significant fire traffic along the route. The closure was ended at 5 p.m. Friday, but Clark said significant fire traffic still was using the road, and motorists were urged to use caution.

Officials said there had been no lightning in the location, which is a high recreation use area, making a human cause more likely.

Most of Thursday evening?s storm and lightning tracked on the east side of the Ochoco National Forest as the storm moved to the northeast, so many eyes will be on the region for any new fires, with crews on standby to respond to any new starts.

Because much of Thursday’s lightning was accompanied by locally heavy rain, only two new fire starts were reported in the region Friday, both on the Ochoco National Forest and tackled at very small sizes, Clark said. But the watch will continue for more “sleeper” fires.