Fire flares on an acre of Black Butte

A fire flared up on Black Butte on Wednesday, October 1.

Black Butte Ranch Police Chief Gil Zaccaro spotted what he called the "suspicious" fire while on patrol. The blaze appeared to be on the west side of Black Butte in Jefferson County.

The Black Butte Fire Department determined that the blaze was not a control- led burn and Sisters-Camp Sherman Rural Fire Protection District firefighters were called out.

Zaccaro reported that the fire was located on Forest Road 1105 on the west side of Black Butte.

According to Captain Thorton Brown of the Sisters fire district, the fire was about one acre in size and was just "creeping around on the ground" in a brushy area.

Three brush firefighting rigs responded to the scene for the initial firefighting effort and Forest Service and then Oregon Department of Forestry crews took over. The fire was completely doused.

Forest Service law enforcement officer Fred Perl told The Nugget that the fire was caused by an escaped campfire.

"It appeared that it was the crude remains of a campfire pit that was not extinguished properly," Perl said. "It was kind of just an open dirt pit."

The pit had long branches in it that would inevitably carry fire into surrounding grasses.

According to Perl, there are no suspects at this time and the blaze is under investigation.