WARM SPRINGS, Ore. (AP) --Over 300 firefighters battled three new fires which erupted in the juniper and sagebrush near the Warm Springs Indian Reservation, initially threatening a subdivision of over 100 homes.
By Friday evening, crews had redirected the flames away from the homes and by Saturday, the fire was ''looking pretty dead,'' said U.S. Forest Service spokesman Roland Giller. Dubbed the Shitike Creek fire, it spanned 500 acres and was 40 percent contained.
Two other blazes were taking priority Saturday.
The Rattlesnake Springs fire, which was reportedly started by lightning, had grown to 2,800 acres and was burning 6 miles northeast of Warm Springs on the west side of the Deschutes River.
The Schoolie Rim fire, whose cause is under investigation, was estimated at 1,130 acres. It was burning 6 miles north of the reservation, near a fish hatchery. The fish hatchery was spared and the fire was expected to be contained by Saturday night, officials said.
The three fires reported Friday came on the heels of the Wolf Point Fire which burned more than 4,000 acres halfway between the Kah-Nee-Ta casino and the Warm Springs reservation. The fire was fully contained Thursday evening.
