Sisters firefighters battle Ochoco blaze

Three Sisters-Camp Sherman station firefighters left their extraction training (see related story, this page) Saturday morning, August 26, to respond to a real-time emergency: the forest fire raging in the Ochoco Mountains to the east.

Sisters station Captain Gary Lovegren, responding to a call from forest officials, immediately dispatched David Wheeler, staff firefighter, student Smokey Bittler, and volunteer Mason McCoy to help fight the blaze at Ochoco National Forest.

Lundgren said that Governor Kitzhaber had, following the request of the State Fire Marshall, upgraded the fire to a "conflagration," meaning buildings and houses were at risk. This allowed officials to tap local station firefighters.

The three Sisters residents joined six Forest Service firefighters from the Sisters Ranger District already on-site attempting to contain and control the fire, according to Forest Service Natural Resource Team Leader Bob Flores.

The size of the blaze, as well as its timing, are proving a challenge. Forest Service Assistant Fire Management Officer Mike Carnahan, a 30 year-veteran, said that "because of the size and number of other fires in the West, we're pretty much stripped of people. In our fire shop -- everyone's out."

In fact, Carnahan said that the blaze, which began from a lightning strike one week ago Wednesday, had created more problems than it normally would.

"...It's taking longer to handle because our resources are so limited. At this time, it's already a worse fire season than '88, the year Yellowstone burned," he said. "But it's too early to compare yet -- the season's not over yet."

The Ochoco conflagration, as of Monday, August 28, had spread to over 8,900 acres and was being fought by 1,043 firefighters, according to on-site Information Officer Christy Donham.

"The fire, at this time, is not running, it's just crawling and burning in a mosaic pattern," she said.

"The reason the fire was termed a 'conflagration' is because of its proximity and threat to Marks Creek homes."

Also, though Mt. Bachelor Academy had voluntarily closed, Donham was careful to point out that the fire was currently "about three or four miles away-- there was no evacuation order issued; they left voluntarily."

Donham said the West and South parts of the fire had a perimeter fire line in place, a step closer to containment, and "we're doing some mopping up there now."

However, she cautioned that the North and East areas were still burning more freely and not yet safe for firefighters to close with.

"We'll let it burn off the heavy fuel to a place where we can more safely fight it," Donham said. "Please remember, firefighter and public safety are our first concerns."

According to Donham, three public areas will continue to experience disruption.

"We've closed Walton Lake because the helicopters are dipping water out of it," she said. "We also have closed the entire area to bow-hunters... travel along Highway 26 is being slowed."

To date, Donham said, reported injuries have been relatively minor, with two firefighters suffering hand burns.