Guards now surround part of Rock Creek fire

The complex is approximately 7,021 acres and 10 percent contained.

The biggest problem, the Forest Service said, is the number of “mega-fires” that burn each year.

Choy said soldiers usually specializing in firing Howitzers, infantry battle and fixing trucks will undergo five days of training in fire safety, building fire lines and digging trenches.

The fire is one of more than 230 blazes now burning across B.C., said provincial fire information officer Kevin Skrepnek.

“We are seeing wildfires in the United States grow to sizes that were unimaginable just 20 or 30 years ago”, U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell said in May during a congressional hearing.

Firefighters are working fast as they try to contain the huge Rock Creek fire burning east of Osoyoos, but changing weather could undermine their best efforts.

The guardsmen, Anderson said, will work primarily in mop-up operations in contained areas, allowing professional firefighters to move to hot spots and, when possible, rest up. Fire monitors are watching its progress, but not suppressing it unless it threatens patrol cabins in the area.

High winds forecast for an area of eastern Oregon where the Canyon Creek Complex wildfire has destroyed three dozen homes have prompted more evacuation orders, officials said Thursday.

The lightning-sparked blaze on the Malheur National Forest has grown to 63 square miles and ruined at least 26 houses. “It’s really something that is not acceptable as we have these assets in the air, supporting and protecting our communities”.

He said a man was fined $3,000 after discarding a cigarette that caused the 2003 McLure-Barriere fire near Kamloops, destroying 73 homes and a sawmill.

“They came quick”, he told CNN affiliate KCPQ-TV.

“There is a good chance we will get called out again”, Balzer said.

The employees are being sent to Chelan Fruit’s other facilities in the region, Riggan said.

Oregon’s Office of the State Fire Marshal requested the Clatsop County Fire Task Force assist in structure protection.