Lightning sparks small fire south of Sisters

The thunderstorms that rolled and grumbled across the Sisters area on Sunday evening, August 21, left one fire in their wake.

A lightning strike sparked a small blaze near Squaw Creek Falls, according to U.S. Forest Service fire specialist Jinny Pitman. The blaze was about 1/4- to 1/2-acre in size on Monday.

A six-person smokejumper crew responded.

“They jumped it first thing this morning,” Pitman said on Monday.

A hand crew was hiking into the area on Monday to assist.

According to Pitman there were 12 confirmed lightning strikes on the Sisters Ranger District. Given the dry conditions, there could be “sleeper fires,” smoldering blazes that can burst into conflagrations as much as two weeks after the initial strike.

Such “sleepers” were found to be responsible for the Bear and Booth fires in 2003 that blew up and merged to create the destructive B&B Complex Fire.

“There is the potential for sleepers,” Pitman acknowledged.

She said that sophisticated lightning mapping allows firefighters to pinpoint areas that could hide a smoldering blaze.

“People are out checking those areas to see if there’s anything creeping around,” Pitman said.