Successful back burn creates plume

A looming plume of smoke on Friday afternoon, July 19, made Sisters residents wonder if the fires to the north had blown up again.

But according to fire information officer Kate Goossens, the plume actually was evidence of a successful back burning operation designed to create a buffer for Green Ridge.

The smoke rose rapidly as an inversion lifted.

"The plume was actually a very successful finish to (firefighters) burning operations," Goossens said. "They were very positive about their progress yesterday."

Goossens said the fire had advanced to within a mile of the foot of Green Ridge at one point where it drops off toward the Metolius River.

The back burning creates a buffer zone to prevent the fire from kicking up and running up the ridge.

The 21,144-acre Eyerly Fire is 65 percent contained with a full containment date projected at Tuesday, July 23.

The 1,130-acre Geneva 2 Fire northeast of Sisters is 95 percent contained.

Goossens said that firefighters are working hard to make as much progress as possible on the fires because they expect warmer temperatures and lower humidity in the next few days.