New wildfire burns 1,000 acres in Sherman County; S-503 Fire nears full containment
BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) – A new wildfire Sunday afternoon burned about 1,000 acres of grass, juniper and sagebrush south of Grass Valley in Sherman County, but firefighters and area farmers working in extreme heat were able to get it stopped, authorities said.
Incident No. 408 was reported around 2:30 p.m. west of Highway 97 at milepost 34, the Sherman County Sheriff’s Office said.
The fire broke out on private, unprotected lands, but the BLM sent some crews to help area farmers and ranchers stop it, Oregon Department of Forestry spokeswoman Christie Shaw said.
The sheriff’s office said the main fire was knocked down by 9 p.m., but crews would be on it all night. There was a small flare-up Monday morning but quickly put out, with the fire staying within lines and monitoring continuing.
Sherman County Emergency Services asked residents, to avoid the areas where crews were working on Finnegan and VonBorstel roads, "to give them space to work and fight the fire in this BRUTAL heat!"
The cause of the fire was under investigation.
Meanwhile, the S-503 Fire on the north end of the Warm Springs Indian Reservation has reached 95% containment, officials said in Monday’s update. Firefighters and engine crews have been working on cooling hot spots and advancing into the interior of the fire’s containment line for several days.
