More progress made on week-old wildfires, but new blazes pop up as heat wave hits
(Update: Details on B-270 Fire)
BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) – Firefighters on Saturday reported more progress on week-old wildfires on the Warm Springs Indian Reservation and in southern Klamath County, but new, small fires have emerged as the region entered a heat wave expected to break temperature records and heighten fire danger.
On Friday, fire crews stopped a new fire on Prineville District BLM land 14 miles south of Brothers, in the Brothers-Hampton Rural Fire Protection Association Area.
The Porcupine Lake Fire burned more than 26 acres of juniper and sagebrush before firefighters stopped its spread, an official said.
Two SEAT (Single-Engine Air Tanker) planes dropped retardant on the fire Friday, assisting two engine crews and a BLM crew, along with a couple of engine crews from the Brothers-Hampton RFPA, Oregon Department of Forestry spokeswoman Christie Shaw said.
On Saturday morning, "they reported lines held and they were continuing to secure the fire," she said.
Meanwhile, the week-old S-503 Fire on the north end of the Warm Springs Indian Reservation has reached 60% containment at 6,678 acres, including about 500 acres of private lands protected by the Oregon Department of Forestry. The cause of that fire is not known, according to officials.
More than 500 firefighters are on the blaze, and some of the crews mopping up areas of heat also assisted Friday in response to a new fire start, the B-270 Fire.
The B-270 Fire was reported Friday afternoon in a timbered area on the northwest side of the reservation, Warm Springs Fire Information Officer Javin Dimmick said.
Warm Springs Fire Management and Team 8 initial attack crews responded, along with a water-dropping helicopter, and stopped the fire at about 15 acres. Mop-up work was underway Saturday after crews cleared 100 feet deep around the fire's perimeter.
In Klamath County, the Cutoff Fire six miles north of Bonanza and 20 miles east of Klamath Falls held at 1,288 acres and moved to 85 percent containment by Saturday. An incident management team is handing responsibility for the fire back to local ODF, BLM and Forest Service officials Sunday morning.
Nearly 400 firefighters were staffing the fire, and the cause of the blaze was under investigation. It destroyed 22 structures, including two homes.
