Governor and Forest Service chief to visit Oregon fire

The Northwest Colorado Fire Management Unit says over 4,000 lightning strikes hit northwestern Colorado on Saturday and Sunday.

This is the earliest the number of national acres burned has been more than 7 million in the past 20 years.

And fighting fires isn’t cheap.

Company officials stress they keep safety a top priority and would never put any of their crews in harm’s way of a fire.

Firefighters also continue to prepare for the fire’s likely spread by lining archaeological sites, range fences, trick tanks and any other potentially fire-sensitive resources near the fire area.

Helicopters have been dipping into Lake Chelan to pull up water to battle blazes north of the lake.

Even with escalated funding, it probably won’t be enough.

“We had nine chickens, and I had to just kick open the chicken coop door and let them fend for themselves”, he said. Frankly, anyone stupid enough to do something to endanger the safety of our forests – especially in a hot, dry year like this one – deserves a harsh punishment. Here’s just one of those stories.

As of Tuesday, at least 95 fires were burning in the two states, about 30 of them considered large, according to the Northern Rockies Coordination Center in Missoula. “So that can cause extreme fire behaviour”, said McCulley. If it runs out before the end of the fire season, Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell would send out a “letter of direction” specifying which types of spending to put on hold, Jones said. The situation results in firefighting resources being stretched thin.

But why are fires getting so much worse? However, Lindsay Nothern, spokesman for U.S. Sen.

The U.S. Global Change Research Program predicted that wildfires will increase, especially in the Southwest.

It’s the biggest fires that cost the most. The blaze has scorched more than 150 square miles but is 35 percent contained.

This is part of what officials are calling the Clearwater Complex Fire. TVF&R believes the fire got started when farm equipment kicked off a spark that light grass on fire.

The Grant County Sheriff’s Office says 36 homes have been destroyed by an Eastern Oregon wildfire – 10 more than previously reported.

The fire had burned more than 283,000 acres by Wednesday morning and was 95 percent contained. “We’ve had no want or need for anything”.

Crews from around the state have been sent to the John Day area to protect homes.