Crews will remain on Link Fire

Smoke no longer descends in choking clouds on Sisters, and Black Butte Ranch has returned to normal activities.

The 3,574-acre Link Fire, which threatened the Ranch between July 5 and 13, is being mopped up. Hot spots continue to smolder and firefighters are moving in to douse them - a process that will probably continue for a while, according to fire officials.

The Blue Mountain Interagency Fire Team handed management of the fire over to a local team on Saturday.

According to a release from the Blue Mountain team, rehabilitation in the fire area has begun. This initial rehabilitation involves creating water barriers to mitigate erosion, placing logs and branches in the control lines and pulling soil berms pushed up by firefighting bulldozers into more natural settings.

With high temperatures and dry conditions, fire danger remains extreme in Sisters area forests. Forest users are reminded to be cautious and obey all fire restrictions.