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Cooler Weather Aids Progress On Stouts Creek Fire

By Amanda Peacher (OPB)
Aug. 10, 2015 5:54 p.m.
An engine crew from Grayback Forestry monitors a burnout operation on the Stouts Creek Fire.

An engine crew from Grayback Forestry monitors a burnout operation on the Stouts Creek Fire.

Aran Eversman / Courtesy Oregon Department of Forestry

Cooler weather is helping crews suppress the Stouts Creek Fire in Southwest Oregon. On Monday morning, the fire was 40 percent contained after growing to more than 23,000 acres.

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"We're working in conditions in the mid 80s and humidity levels are in the 20s," said Joe Touchstone with the Oregon Department of Forestry. "So that decreases the fire activity and we can make significant progress."

Easterly winds from the Stouts Creek and other smaller fires are sending smoke as far as Central Oregon.

The National Weather Service has issued a red flag weather warning for much of Central and Western Oregon. That's because high winds and lightning are in the forecast. But rain is also predicted, which would help tamp down new fire starts.

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