Thunderstorms spark 15 fires

August 13, 2004 -- Firefighters scrambled to attack 15 fires that sprang up in the wake of a powerful thunderstorm that rolled across Sisters on Friday evening, August 13.

"We've kind of got our hands full," said a dispatcher with the Prineville-based Central Oregon Interagency Dispatch.

Crews from Sisters Ranger District and the Oregon Department of Forestry responded to the blazes, which ranged in size from tiny spot fires to about three-acres.

The fires covered the Sisters area from the Black Pine Springs area along Three Creek Road to strikes northeast of Black Butte. According to dispatch there were a couple of fires on Black Butte itself.

Firefighters hurried to locate the blazes while there was still light and planned to fight them hard before hot conditions create a chance of a major fire erupting near Sisters.