More thunderstorms, lightning; new fire caught small
Another round of thunderstorms marched north through the High Desert Tuesday afternoon, dumping heavy rain in spots and plenty of lightning that could spark more wildfires.
By about 8 p.m. Tuesday, the Central Oregon Interagency Dispatch Center in Prineville reported firefighters chasing smoke reports had found five confirmed fires, all on the Deschutes National Forest and under a quarter-acre.
One significant new lightning-sparked fire was reported — Incident 351 burned five acres 10 miles southeast of Sisters, near Cline Butte, before ground crews and an air attack helped get a bulldozer line around it.
The fire was reported at mid-afternoon on BLM land between Barr Road and Sage Ranch, according to Central Oregon Interagency Dispatch in Prineville.
A 20-person hand crew and bulldozer responded, along with three engine crews, two single-engine air tankers and two water-dropping helicopters.
A heavy air tanker worked the head of the fire while the two SEAT planes and two helicopters assisted crews on the ground.
By early evening, they had a fire line around the perimeter and were in mop-up, helped by one helicopter.
COIDC spokeswoman Kassidy Kern said the firefighters had found a tree that was “basically blown up from lightning” striking it.
On Monday night, COIDC reported it had recorded about 70 lightning strikes in the previous 24 hours. Tuesday morning, Officials tweeted that crews went out to check on 14 smoke reports and engaged a half-dozen blazes, all under a quarter-acre.
Meanwhile, more than 5,400 Pacific Power customers lost power shortly before 5 p.m. Monday in the Culver, Crooked River Ranch and Warm Springs areas; follow updates at: https://www.pacificpower.net/ed/po/ooi.html
Pacific Power spokesman Ry Schwark said they were not yet sure but believed it was likely a lightning-sparked outage at Warm Springs, as there was a thunderstorm with lightning over the area of that line at the time it went out, around 4:50 p.m.
Warm Springs customers were back on first, and patrols were done to be sure it was safe to restore power to about 4,300 others still without it.
While the utility had given estimated a 9 p.m. time of full restoration, it took until 5:42 a.m. Tuesday to restore power to about 1,800 Culver-area residents because crews had to replace two lightning arrestors on a transformer in a substation, Schwark said.
COIDC said while parts of the region got much-needed rain, crews responded to small blazes including the Black Fly Fire (Incident 330) west of Sisters, on land protected by the Oregon Department of Forestry. There also was Incident 331, another small fire by Ann’s Butte, two miles southwest of Sunriver.
A bit cooler temperatures had enabled hundreds of firefighters to make slow but steady progress on the week-old, 26,500-acre Corner Creek Fire south of Dayville, as well as on a new blaze that broke out over the weekend in the steep, forested hills above Detroit Lake and state Highway 22.
However, even with a slow cooldown underway, the National Weather Service issued a new red flag warning for much of the High Desert, from 3 p.m. Monday to 9 p.m. Tuesday for “abundant lightning” and gusty winds.
Federal officials said the two Dayville-area fires have cost $7.5 million to fight so far ($4.3 million for Corner Creek, $3.2 million for Sugarloaf). The firefighting personnel count at Corner Creek has risen to 1,100 as of Tuesday morning.
Here’s the Tuesday morning update on the 26,517-acre Corner Creek Fire:
The Corner Creek Fire was ignited by lightning on June 29. Oregon Department of Forestry Incident Management Team 1 (ODF IMT 1) assumed responsibility for the fire on July 1 after it made several runs during hot, dry, and windy weather. Today (July 7) ODF IMT 1 is working with Oregon Interagency Incident Management Team 2 (IIMT 2), which will be assuming responsibility for the fire tomorrow.
The Corner Creek Fire continues to burn actively on the west side of the South Fork John Day River, about 11 miles south of Dayville.
On Monday, the fire stayed within the planned control lines on the east, south, and southwest sides of the fire. Mop up continues on these lines, trying to secure large portions of the fire. A thunderstorm rolled through the fire area late Monday, but the fire did not jump the control lines.
Tuesday on the west side of the fire, personnel will be carefully igniting some of the unburned areas between the main fire edge and the burnout conducted Sunday night. This will help secure this portion of the fire.
The northern edge of the fire is burning in the Black Canyon Wilderness. Fire personnel continue to develop plans for containment of this part of the fire.
One hunting cabin was destroyed by the fire. Other structures, including the Rockpile Ranch, have been successfully protected.
There is a red flag warning through 9 p.m. Tuesday for possible thunderstorms with abundant lightning. The forecast continues to call for hot, dry weather with periods of gusty winds. More thunderstorms are possible later in the week.
The South Fork Road/Co. Rd. 42 from Dayville to US Forest Service 58 Road junction is closed to the general public due to fire activity. Local traffic should drive with caution due to heavy fire-related traffic. The 58 Road and 5820 Road are also closed due to active burning in the vicinity.
A forest closure has been issued for part of the Ochoco National Forest near the Corner Creek Fire, including the Black Canyon Wilderness. Mud Springs and Frazier Campgrounds are closed to the public.
Information about the Corner Creek Fire is posted online at: www.centralorfireinfo.blogspot.com
http://inciweb.mwcg.gov/incident/4349/
The Oregon Department of Forestry’s Incident Management Team 1 assumed command of the Sugarloaf Fire on June 29. The team is working for the Bureau of Land Management, the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, and ODF’s Central Oregon District. On Wednesday, Oregon Interagency Incident Management Team 2 will be taking over the management of this fire.
The Sugarloaf Fire is located approximately 8 miles north of Dayville. The incident command post is located at the Dayville School.
As of Tuesday, the Sugarloaf Fire was 98 percent contained and holding at 4,740 acres. There are a few areas with concentrations of heat, mostly on the northeast portion of the fire, well interior of the fire perimeter.
Patrol and mop-up continue on the Sugarloaf Fire and the Blue Basin Fire (317 acres, 100% contained), with emphasis on the areas around the structures. A total of 174 personnel are assigned to the Sugarloaf Fire. Fire personnel and equipment are being reassigned to the Corner Creek Fire when they are no longer needed at Sugarloaf Fire.
Information about the Sugarloaf Fire is posted online at www.centralorfireinfo.blogspot.com.
A fire containment line has been established around the Niagara Fire that broke out Saturday in the steep, forested hills above Detroit Lake and Big Cliff Dam, and additional growth is not anticipated. The fire is mapped at 70 acres and containment is 35 percent., officials said Tuesday.
The goal for Tuesday was to secure the fire containment line by extinguishing all fire adjacent to it and working inward. Firefighting hose has been positioned along a portion of the line providing firefighters with a ready source of water. Monday night, 6,000 gallons of water were used in this effort.
Where the ground is just too steep for a person to walk, helicopters will drop water to cool the fire. At the morning briefing, Operations Chief Blake Ellis established the importance of the work, saying, “There are challenges out there, but I don’t want you to go quickly over it — make sure it is 100 percent out.”
Depending on the firefighters’ work Tuesday, containment is expected to steadily increase. Infrared (heat-seeing) cameras were used Monday night to check for remaining fire along Highway 22, where the fire began. Very little fire was found in the area, and that was being put out Tuesday.
Even though the fire is located on very rugged and rocky ground, progress has been good. Incident Commander Russ Lane said he was “super-impressed with the efforts of the firefighters.”
There are no road or recreational closures associated with the fire at this time.
The Niagara Fire was first reported Saturday and is located adjacent to the Big Cliff Dam along Highway 22. The cause of the fire is under investigation. Fire restrictions are in effect on the Willamette National Forest and state and private forests.
The human-caused, 1,037-acre Radar Fire, which began Saturday four miles west of Burns remained 80 percent contained Tuesday, with full containment expected by Thursday, according to the Northwest Coordination Center.
