News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
The Eyerly Fire made its presence known in Sisters on Friday evening with a menacing smoke plume that dominated the evening sky.
As area residents nervously watched the smoke from the Eyerly fire billow into the air north of Sisters, a dry electrical storm sparked a blaze much closer to home.
The Geneva 2 fire erupted on Sunday, July 14, about 10 miles northeast of Sisters on private land.
The fire was held at 100 acres for most of the day Monday, before an erratic wind generated spot fires that pushed the fire to 250 acres.
"The spot fires just grew and grew," said Carol Connolly of Central Oregon Interagency Dispatch.
"It just jumped the lines, basically."
With the explosive Eyerly fire as a grim reminder of the potential for a small blaze to quickly get out of hand, crews worked hard to contain the fire as it spread and began to pose a threat to scattered rural homes.
Helicopters and ground crews with 22 pieces of equipment battled the blaze, with additional support from a retardent-dropping plane.
The fire was stalled on Tuesday morning as the Eyerly Fire management team took over the battle.
Digging for sparks...
Quick response from the relatively new Squaw Creek Canyon Estates fire substation kept a lightning-sparked blaze on a vacant lot on Sorrel Drive from turning dangerous on Sunday.
"It was cooking pretty good, but they got right on it," said sheriff's deputy Allan Borland, who responded to the scene. "Having this station out here, they got on it really quick."
Meanwhile, cooler temperatures and higher humidity assisted firefighters in their efforts to suppress the Eyerly Fire.
Eighteen homes were lost in the Three Rivers subdivision. Homeowners were informed as soon as damage assessments were completed.
"It's never easy to share the bad news with property owners," said Incident Commander John Jackson.
According to the Central Oregon Interagency Incident Management Team, a total of 981 personnel were fighting the Eyerly Fire.
Seven helicopters, 24 engines, 13 dozers and 33 20-person hand crews were on scene.
The fire is 17,000 acres in size and 30 percent contained with an expected containment date of July 19.
The entire Metolius Arm of Lake Billy Chinook was closed, as were Monty Campground and Perry South Campground north of Camp Sherman.
Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.
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