Second Sisters fire burns 300 acres.Byline: From Register-Guard and news service reports SISTERS - Firefighters are working on the second fire of the year near this Central Oregon Central Oregon is a geographical region lying near the center of the U.S. state of Oregon. It is commonly considered to include Deschutes, Jefferson, and Crook counties. Primary cities in Central Oregon are La Pine, Sunriver, Bend, Redmond, Madras, and Prineville. town as the Lake George Lake George, village (1990 est. pop. 1,100), seat of Warren co., E N.Y.; inc. 1903. Situated on the southern tip of Lake George in the foothills of the Adirondack Mts. Fire has burned about 300 acres in the Deschutes National Forest The Deschutes National Forest is a United States National Forest located in Deschutes County, Oregon. It is comprised of 1.8 million acres (7,300 km²) along the east side of the Cascade mountains. as of Thursday night. The fire is burning in bug-killed lodgepole pine lodgepole pine, common name for the pine species Pinus contorta, found in the Rocky Mts. and the northwestern coast of the United States. and fir about 13 miles west of Sisters in the Mount Washington Wilderness. It grew from about 20 acres earlier in the day, with west winds pushing the fire east and causing spot fires ahead of the main blaze, according to the Forest Service. Air tankers and helicopters worked the fire throughout the afternoon as ground crews made their way toward the blaze. Fire engines and bulldozers were on hand in case the fire burned outside the wilderness boundary. Firefighters were expected to build fire lines around the fire through Thursday night and this morning. Crews from the Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management and the Oregon Department of Forestry were battling the fire. Elsewhere in the state, the 600-acre Rock Springs Fire in Wheeler County was 60 percent contained. The 800-acre Three Horses Fire, also in Wheeler County, was 95 percent contained with full containment expected today. On Mount Hood, firefighters added crews and equipment Thursday as they battled 10 fires burning within two wilderness areas. Recreation sites and the watershed of The Dalles dalles pl.n. The rapids of a river that runs between the steep precipices of a gorge or narrow valley. [French, pl. of dalle, gutter, from Old French, from Old Norse dæla.] faced a threat but were in no immediate danger, said Bernie Pineda, a spokesman for the fire teams. But, he said, ``We're dealing with a fire that's uncontrolled. We're not dealing with a fire that can be steered and controlled.'' A section of Route 35 in the popular recreation region remained closed. The fires were burning on about 400 acres in the Mount Hood and Badger Creek wilderness The Badger Creek Wilderness is located on the southern side of Mount Hood in the northwestern Cascades of Oregon, U.S., within Mount Hood National Forest. areas, which flank the highway. Pineda said the Mount Hood wilderness The Mount Hood Wilderness is a protected wilderness area inside the Mount Hood National Forest which is located in the U.S. state of Oregon. The area, about 47,000 acres (190 km²), includes the peak of Mount Hood and its upper slopes, and ranges from temperate rain forests at the was difficult terrain for firefighters, and planes and helicopters dropping retardant re·tar·dant adj. Acting or tending to retard. Often used in combination: flame-retardant pajamas for children; a fire-retardant security chest. did much of the work there. He said a total of 13 crews were on the fires, some made up of government workers, others contract workers. Another five crews were to join the fight by today, he said. He said firefighters were gaining on many Pacific Northwest blazes, so more resources were shifted to Mount Hood. The Mount Hood fires began with a surge of lightning strikes Sunday evening. |
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