New wildfire burns about 30 acres east of Crescent

(Update: Fire lined, size revised to 31 acres)

A new wind-driven wildfire broke out late Thursday afternoon about four miles east of Crescent and grew to 31 acres as numerous crews were called out and got a bulldozer line dug around it by evening, officials said.

The Pipeline Fire was reported just after 4 p.m. east of milepost 185 on Highway 97, burning in grass, brush and timber on Gilchrist State Forest Land, said Annette Carlson of Walker Range Fire Patrol Association.

The fire was burning toward the south, so it was not threatening the highway or any homes in the Klamath County community, Carlson said.

“We have a lot of resources on scene,” with more on the way, she said, including bulldozers, U.S. Forest Service and Oregon Department of Forestry crews and two heli-tack aircraft.

The cause of the fire was under investigation, with an Oregon State Police investigator on scene, Carlson said..