Cool weather both aids, hampers fire efforts.

Byline: The Register-Guard

Wet weather and cold temperatures Wednesday offered a mixed blessing to firefighters battling the Cascade Crest Complex fires. The cooler weather ends today when a warming, drying trend will reappear.

The weather put a damper on air operations, limiting bucket and retardant drops, as well as the ability to airlift equipment needed by firefighters. But the chilly, wet weather also kept the fires from spreading.

In the high country of the Puzzle Fire, crews working on the northern perimeter woke up to snow. On Wednesday, the 19,675-acre Cascade Crest Complex fires were 70 percent contained.

Activity on all three fires making up the Cascade Crest Complex was minimal, with firefighters dousing smoldering hot spots, fire officials said. About 775 firefighters, including 21 crews, eight helicopters, two planes, 11 fire engines, two bulldozers and 13 water tenders battled the fires.

Crews finished the contingency line to the west of the Puzzle Fire and were able to build a direct line on most of the western half of the fire, which is now 35 percent contained. The closure around the Puzzle Fire includes an area bound by Highway 22 on the west, Whitewater Creek on the north, the Warm Springs reservation and Forest Roads 1230 and 1234 on the east, and Highway 20/126 from Santiam Pass to Santiam Junction on the south.

Crews continued mopping up and closing bulldozer lines on the Lake George Fire. Check with local ranger stations regarding areas closed by the fires.

Elsewhere, damage was estimated at $20,000 in a wildfire that swept into the Pacific Fir Lumber Mill in Sheridan. Firefighters and mill workers on Monday stopped the fire in the planer room.