Lightning starts fire on Black Crater

Lightning spiked from the black clouds over Black Crater west of Sisters on Wednesday, August 4, sparking a fire that covered about 1/4 acre just to the north of the mountain, according to Central Oregon Interagency Dispatch in Prineville.

A pair of helicopters dropped water on the fire to hold it in check while a ground crew hiked into the fire area. The crew worked on the fire overnight.

Black Crater lies to the north of the North Sister and is accessible from a trailhead just beyond the McKenzie Summit.

"It was in heavy, dense, downed fuels with limited access," a dispatch spokesman reported.

Firefighters had the fire contained by 6 p.m. Thursday evening.

Two other fires were reported near Black Pine Springs on the road to Three Creek Lake south of Sisters and there were approximately 10 fire starts in the Cline Buttes area just west of Eagle Crest Resort.

The thunderstorms brought more moisture than predicted. The Colgate Station west of Crossroads measured .13 inches of rain over four hours Wednesday night.

Firefighters were keeping a wary eye out as temperatures warmed and humidity dropped in the wake of the storms. Such conditions always raise concerns about "holdover" fires where lightning-struck trees can smolder for days before erupting in flames. Last year's devastating B&B Complex Fire started that way, when holdover fires separated by about 15 miles erupted within hours of each other -- nearly two weeks after the lightning strikes that got them started.