Firefighters knock down Warm Springs fire

(Update: Comments from fire manager)

A wildfire prompted closure of U.S. Highway 26 near Warm Springs for about an hour late Friday afternoon and crews were on scene mopping up for some time.

The fire was reported around 4 p.m. and Warm Springs fire officials said two fires had merged into one and crews were out fighting it.

ODOT’s TripCheck page showed the highway closed at milepost 101 and drivers were urged to use alternate routes on a big travel weekend before the Fourth of July holiday. The map showed the highway had reopened shortly after 5 p.m

The fire was in the same general area where three suspicious fires totaling 90 acres broke out Tuesday afternoon, though they did not prompt closure of the highway.

A fire official on scene noted the entire Pacific Northwest is expected to be drier than usual — and the fairly dry winter did no favors in shortening what looks to be a long fire season.

“It will be under drought conditions with not a lot of snowpack this year, which could make it a long fire season for the firefighters in the northwest, especially in Oregon,” fire management officer Trey Leonard said.

Leonard went on to say fire season is getting longer by a month and a half, due to climate change. He said we probably would not have had so many wildfires at this time of year two or three decades ago. With that in mind, he stressed the importance of avoiding human-caused fires at all costs.