Firefighters contain half of wildfire near California wine region

Smoke visible from Jerusalem Fire in Lake County The fire started August 9.

Steve Beverlin, supervisor of the Malheur National Forest in John Day, said he’s been battling what started as two fires with about 100 firefighters – a blend of government and private firefighters. Called the Cougar Creek fire, it had zero percent containment as the state requested help from the National Guard.

Across Oregon more than 1,000 people have been forced to evacuate homes, ranches and resorts due to wildfires that blew up Friday as strong winds swept across the state.

The Canyon Creek Complex fire flared up August 13 and 14, forcing evacuations in Canyon City and Highway 395 closures from Canyon City to Seneca.

Friday’s forecast thunderstorm didn’t hit the Bitterroot Valley as hard as advertised, but it did stir up several small fires across western Montana. Fires grew about 900 acres Thursday. A Type II team with 140 firefighters is in place as the fire burns near homes in the Copper Creek and Elk Creek areas.

“I’m pretty confident they will be OK”, said Beverlin, who had to take a break from firefighting Friday to evacuate his own home. They say the county sheriff’s office will notify landowners directly if any homes have been lost or damaged. The concern was magnified last fall, when lawyers for state Attorney General Kamala Harris argued that extending an early prison-release program to “all minimum custody inmates at this time would severely impact fire camp participation – a risky outcome while California is in the middle of a hard fire season and severe drought”. For everyone’s safety, if you are not an area resident, please keep roads clear for evacuees and fire personnel.

Bitterroot National Forest crews were working on five additional fires that were all less than one acre in size on Friday. Two cabins have burned.

Burlant said Tuesday afternoon in a live webcast that weather has proven a challenge to firefighters as they attempt to create distance between the fire and its fuel sources.

At his family’s winery, flames jumped a containment line and consumed about 200 acres of land used for cattle grazing.

“Fire crews are doing everything possible with the resources at hand to fight the fires”, according to a late-night statement from the Malheur National Forest.

Two fires have charred dry Lower Lake, the most recent burning 38 square miles of thick brush and oak trees in Lake and Napa counties. One unoccupied structure has been destroyed.

The temperatures, though not record-breaking, are still about 10 degrees above average for this time of year, Seto said.