By Matthew Preusch
The Sunday Oregonian (Portland, Oregon)
Copyright 2006 The Sunday Oregonian
All Rights Reserved
SISTERS, Ore. — Tourists crossing the McKenzie Pass had front-row seats for a rumbling air show as red and white tanker planes swung low over craggy lava flows, dropping loads of retardant on the advancing Lake George fire west of Sisters on Saturday.
The 850-acre fire was one of nearly a dozen large fires burning across Oregon, most sparked by a series of storms that swept through the region last week logging 18,000 lightning strikes in Oregon and Washington, said John Townsley, information officer for the Northwest Interagency Coordination Center in Portland.
Fires were slowed somewhat by cooler temperatures and higher humidity but warmer, drier weather is expected for the next few days, possibly leading to more intense fire behavior, Townsley said.
On Saturday, the Lake George fire grew to the west and south, throwing up a plume of gray and brown smoke as it burned through bug-killed timber in the Mount Washington Wilderness area.
Deschutes National Forest officials have closed the Pacific Crest Trail between Oregon 242 and Big Lake. Fires also have closed sections of the 2,650-mile National Scenic Trail in Crater Lake National Park and northern California’s Marble Mountain Wilderness.
“From what I understand from through-hikers, fire is a big problem this year,” said Piroska Balogh, a Troutdale science teacher hiking the Pacific Crest Trail south from Cascade Locks to Ashland.
Balogh said she met a hiker who has detoured 10 times on her trek north from the Mexican border.
In addition to the two air tankers, six helicopters, 340 firefighters and various fire engines, water tenders and bulldozers are assigned to the fire, which is about six miles from Black Butte Ranch and is 5 percent contained.
“This fire’s getting a lot of attention, that’s for sure,” said Cindy Glick, fire information officer.
At the Mount Hood complex of fires east of Government Camp, efforts were focused on the Bluegrass Ridge fire, the largest of the 13 fires making up the roughly 500-acre complex.
“It’s creeping through the forest, but a creeping fire isn’t such a bad thing,” said Trish Hogervorst, a fire information officer. “It’s cleaning that forest up.”
Winds continue to push the fire north, and the complex is 10 percent contained. A contingency plan is in place to notify residents of the Cooper Spur area well in advance of any possible evacuation, Hogervorst said, and structure protection resources are already in place.
Oregon 35 remains closed between Parkdale and the White River Sno-Park.
West of the Cascade Mountains, two small holdover fires were detected in steep terrain near Boulder Creek on U.S. Bureau of Land Management land about 20 miles northeast of Sweet Home.
The Boulder Creek fire is at 60 acres while its companion fire, Rocky Top #5, is 30 acres.
The fires are “in an area that is very popular with campers and there are hundreds of people up there camping this weekend,” said Linda Smith of the Oregon Department of Forestry, which is handling the fires.
Smith said Quartzville Drive north of Green Peter Reservoir is closed to camping between mileposts 19 and 21 due to helicopter activity there.
Numerous other road and recreation closures are place in the vicinities of fires around Oregon, so land managers ask that people check with the relevant agencies before heading into the woods.