Fire continues to burn on Black Crater

A wildfire estimated at between 50 and 70 acres continued to burn uncontrolled as of Tuesday morning, July 25, on the south side of Black Crater within the Three Sisters Wilderness.

The fire, which was discovered on Monday morning after a Sunday evening lightning stormswept across the area, is located about 10 miles southwest of Sisters. The blaze roared to life and threw a big plume of black smoke into the sky by noon, alarming Sisters area residents who were threatened by dangerous wildfires in 2002, 2003 and 2004.

The fire had settleed down by Monday evening and remained that way through the night, according to fire information officer David Seeshortz.

"An air tanker was used to good advantage Monday making drops on the north edge of the fire," he said. "The air tanker will remain on the scene Tuesday depending on the situation of this fire and the status of other major fires in the state."

Besides the air tanker, fire control efforts on Monday also involved a helicopter dropping water picked up from nearby Black Crater Lake.

An interagency Class 3 overhead team assumed management of the fire late Monday, with Travis Moyer with the Oregon Department of Forestry in Sisters as incident commander. Resources on the fire as of Tuesday included six 20-person crews, six engines, five water tenders, and three bulldozers.

According to information officer Cathy Abrien. "Because 95 percent of the fire is within the wilderness, we cannot use the equipment there, but it can be used outside."

A fire camp was established at the Sisters Middle School.

During Monday night, fire crews scouted roads in the area east of the Three Sisters Wilderness and made improvements to improve access for vehicles that can be used as the fire moves outside the wilderness.

Because of dangerous burning conditions, firefighters initially stayed away from the fast-moving fire and directed their efforts at skirting it to gather intelligence, according to Jinny Pittman of the Sisters Ranger District.

"We view this as a high priority fire," Pittman said. "While no structures are threatened at this time, we are concerned about the potential for the fire to spread east to eventually reach residential areas."

The fire, presumably started by lightning during the Sunday evening storm, was reported Monday morning at 11:17 a.m. by Henkle Butte Lookout. It spread rapidly in full view of many residents in western Deschutes County, spotting ahead downhill to the east. The fire burned hot through stands of beetle-killed lodgepole pine and downed trees on the ground, similar to conditions that burned in the 2003 B & B Complex Fire just a few miles to the north.

As the smoke column grew and later as the smell of smoke moved into the Sisters, many residents became nervous and flooded emergency service agencies with phone calls. While evacuation plans have existed since recent major fires, no evacuation alert has been given for any of the residential areas between the fire and Sisters.

"We just want people to be aware of the situation and that we are closely monitoring the fire activity," a Deschutes County sheriff's deputy said Monday in Crossroads.

A meeting of homeowner association representatives and community leaders was to be held Tuesday morning with fire district and city officials to brief them on the current fire situation and to review emergency plans developed in the past few years.

McKenzie Pass Highway 242 was closed between mile points 76 and 84, beginning 12 miles west of Sisters to the snow gate on the west side of the Cascades. Fire managers asked the Oregon Department of Transportation to close the highway to ease traffic congestion and to protect the public with many fire vehicles traveling this route to the fire. The closure prevents people from traveling the scenic road over the Cascades and from visiting Dee Wright Observatory at the summit.

Tony Lompa, the Oregon Department of Forestry forest lookout stationed on Henkle Butte who reported the fire, said that he did not see the specific lightning strike that may started the fire, even though he was on duty until 9:30 p.m. Sunday evening.

The Sisters-Camp Sherman Fire District responded to another fire on Pine Lodge Road in the Camp Sherman area Monday afternoon, according to Capt. Gary Lovegren.

"This was a holdover lightning fire that flamed up,' Lovegren said. "It was just 50 feet across when we controlled it."

The fire was burning on national forest land about 500 feet from the nearest structure, Lovegren added.

Current information on local wildfires is available at http://www.nuggetnews.com.