Oregon Firefighters Brace for Extreme Conditions

Oregon firefighters are bracing for extreme conditions with sizzling temperatures and lightning in the forecast.

"We're really concerned about the weather," said Carol Connolly, spokeswoman for the Northwest Interagency Coordination Center. "It's hot, it's dry and the air mass is unstable which causes extreme wind and erratic fire behavior."

Weather forecasters also predict thunderstorms with flashes of lightning zapping central Oregon and the south and eastern parts of the state starting Thursday. The lightning, coupled with a heat wave, is likely to ignite more blazes.

"The next couple of days will be critical," Connolly said. "There's the potential for extreme fire behavior and new large fires, so we're concerned."

Two new fires flared in Oregon in the past 24 hours, both located in the central part of the state. The Waterfalls 2 fire, 25 miles west of Warm Springs, is burning through grass and rangeland. Ignited by lightning, it has spread to 3,000 acres. Connolly said the fire is very active.

The Butte fire, which flared east of Diamond Lake on Tuesday, has spread to 70 acres. It's running rapidly through timber, with extreme fire behavior. Connolly said it's burning rapidly as flames leap more than a mile ahead of the main blaze.

A Type 2 management team is taking control of the Butte fire on Wednesday, Connolly said.

Another fire, this one southwest of Lakeview, is also burning aggressively through timber. Renee Snyder, spokeswoman for the Barry Point fire straddling Oregon and California, said the blaze grew 18,000 acres in the past 24 hours and now covers more than 59,000 acres. Fire officials have asked residents of about 30 homes to leave and put about 30 more households on alert. Snyder said some people evacuated though others didn't.

"People find it very difficult to leave their homes," Snyder said. "They have their memories, they don't see flames so they've chosen to stay. But they're calling in and getting updates."

Officials expect the fire to keep pushing south into California, swept by the wind, though forecasters expect a kick up in westerly winds on Wednesday.

The blaze is 25 percent contained, mostly on the northern and western edges.

"As we gain ground on the north and the west, the fire is spreading south and east so we're staying level on containment," Snyder said.

More than 1,400 firefighters and support staff are fighting the Barry Point fire, aided on Wednesday by light and medium-sized helicopters dumping buckets of water on the blaze.

To the east, more than 750 people are battling the Holloway fire, which started in Nevada and spread into Oregon. It covers more than 430,000 acres in both states, including more than 220,000 acres in Oregon, and is nearly 70 percent contained.

Stan Hinatsu, Oregon spokesman for the Holloway fire, said it does not pose any significant threat to the community.

"There are ranches out there that are somewhat threatened until we can pinch this thing off but there's no evacuation order," he said.

Firefighters are making good progress, with flames running mainly to the northeast.

"We're really working hard to minimize the number of acres burned," Hinatsu said. "It's been a pretty active fire season in southeast Oregon. A lot of rangeland has been gobbled up. Ranchers are concerned about all the valuable grazing land that's been lost."

Elsewhere:

The Fort complex fires northwest of Happy Camp, Calif., near the Oregon border, has spread to more than 3,400 acres and is 20 percent contained. The fires are burning through timber on steep terrain, making access difficult. Firefighters expect to have the blazes completely under control by the end of the month.

The Buckhead complex fires north of Westfir have spread to 250 acres and are 50 percent contained. On Wednesday, crews will focus on mop-up operations near the control lines.

The Ten Mile complex fires northeast of McDermitt on the Oregon-Nevada border, are near containment, will lines expected to be completed on Thursday. The fires have scorched more than 14,000 acres of grass and sagebrush.

Copyright 2012 - The Oregonian, Portland, Ore.

McClatchy-Tribune News Service