Rains dampen some Oregon fires, but lightning sparks new ones

Recent light rain over the weekend helped dampen some wildfires across parts of Oregon, but not by much.

Thunderstorms also sparked some lightning-caused fires, pulling firefighting resources away from larger fires that were already burning.

The new fires included the Black Rock Fire in north-central Oregon, which grew to over 40,000 acres by Monday morning. It’s currently affecting four counties — Wasco, Wheeler, Sherman and Gilliam — and is 10% contained.

The Black Rock Fire forced parks officials to close part of the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument in Clarno.

Suzannah Burke, a public information officer for the fire, said the closure is most likely to affect tourists, who come out more during the summer.

The fire also triggered a Level 3 (Go Now!) evacuation warning in northwest Wheeler County on Monday. Level 2 and 3 warnings are in place in Sherman and Wasco counties.

In Southern Oregon, a thunderstorm moved across the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest over the weekend, sparking multiple wildfires. Federal forest officials also reported multiple human-caused wildfires. The U.S. Forest Service is tracking those fires and evacuation information here.

Bridge Fire worries federal fire officials

In northeast Oregon the Bridge Fire grew to 350 acres in Grant County, burning off Highway 26 in Eastern Oregon. State parks officials closed the Bates State Park in response to the fire. Forest closures and other information about the Bridge Fire can be found here.

While relatively small compared to other fires in Oregon, fire officials noted it’s burning in steep, mountainous area that’s difficult — and dangerous — for firefighters.

During a community meeting Sunday afternoon, Malheur National Forest supervisor Ann Niesen said she was worried about firefighters’ ability to “come home safe every night.”

“I have some really big concerns,” Niesen said. “There’s no recent history of fire in this area. It’s probably been over a hundred years since we’ve seen fire.”

Niesen said this area is “heavily overstocked” with thick forest. The Forest Service was planning to do vegetation management, such as prescribed burning and thinning, in this area early next year, Niesen said.

A century of aggressive fire suppression has worsened wildfires across much of the West, allowing forests to grow thick when they otherwise would have naturally burned off grasses, brush and small trees. Prescribed burning can help reduce these fire fuels.

Warmer temperatures resulting from climate change, which is primarily caused by burning fossil fuels, have also made fires larger and more destructive.

“We’ve seen the last, I would say 10 years or more, an incredible change in the landscape and the fire that we experienced throughout the western United States. We’re seeing more and more fires,” said Rocky Opliger, incident commander for the California Interagency Incident Management Team 4, which was working the Bridge Fire.