Firefighters make progress on lightning blazes

Sunday, August 15, 10 a.m. -- Firefighters took advantage of high humidity and good firefighting conditions to take on the 31 fires started by lightning from thunderstorms that rumbled over Sisters on Friday and Saturday.

Most of the fires in the Summit Springs Complex are in the mop-up stage, according to Central Oregon Interagency Dispatch in Prineville.

Firefighters expect containment of two five-acre-plus fires northeast of Black Butte by 6 p.m. Monday.

The Sisters country isn't out of the woods yet, however.

"Today's going to be the true test, with hotter conditions and the humidity dropping," a dispatcher said.

The dispatcher also reported that Oregon received 2,000 lightning strikes on Saturday afternoon, the majority of them in Central Oregon. That could lead to still more fires.

"We got hit really hard," the dispatcher said. "I think today (Sunday) we're going to see a lot of sleepers (blazes that flare up in the heat of the day)."

Weather forecasts called for a continued chance of afternoon and evening thunderstorms on Sunday.