Thunderstorms bring fire and rain to Sisters

In Central Oregon a period of hot, humid weather usually ends with a thunderstorm and last week fit the pattern.

Local storms started on Thursday, struck again on Friday and again on Saturday morning.

The region escaped a Sunday storm that stayed west of the Cascades, particularly drenching the Willamette Valley. There, the storm resulted in hail the size of marbles, blew down trees and damaged power lines.

During the several days of thunderstorms, lightning started 22 fires in Central Oregon.

Five of these were reported north of Sisters and all were controlled at less than one-quarter acre, according to Grant Kemp, logistics coordinator at the Central Oregon Interagency Dispatch Center in Prineville.

“All resources are adequate at this time,” Kemp said. “We have a detection aircraft and smokejumpers available.”

Fire wasn’t the only danger; the storm caused some other damage as well.

The biggest clap of thunder on Thursday afternoon rattled windows and walls — and it was strong enough to knock down two shelves at Sisters Cascade of Gifts, leaving a pile of shattered merchandise on the floor.

On Saturday morning, another series of thunderclaps ended with a large one, shaking a house and rattling the screen door, according to one Crossroads resident.

Showers on Sunday brought local temperatures down to near normal and ended the series of storms for the time being.

Rainfall was widely scattered through the storm period with initial reports varying from very light in some areas to over one inch in the Haystack Reservoir area southeast of Madras.

There were some brief, heavy downpours in the Sisters area.

Rain clouds moved across the area, delivering showers periodically throughout the weekend.

Showers are forecasted leading into the Memorial Day Weekend.