Lightning fire restricts access to popular mountain bike trail

WESTFIR, Ore. - Access to a famous mountain bike trail is restricted after lightning sparked a forest fire overnight.

The Buckhead Fire north of Westfir had burned 5 acres by Monday afternoon. Land managers have closed Alpine trail 3450 from Buckhead Shelter to the Westfir Tie trailhead until further notice.

Buckhead is the largest of several fires burning near Oakridge on the Middle Fork Ranger District of the Willamette National Forest. Two others are burning in the Mount Jefferson Wilderness, east of Detroit.
 
Fire personnel from the Willamette National Forest, Umpqua National Forest, Bureau of Land Management and the Oregon Department of Forestry are working together to respond to the fires.
 
“Lightning caused fires are common in the month of August and we are prepared to respond to them,” said Dean Vendrasco, Forest Fire Management Officer. “However, in the past two weeks, we have also had a few fires started from abandoned campfires. Please make sure your campfire is completely before you leave your campsite.”
 
For more information on current conditions on the forest, contact us at (541) 225-6300.

Even without Alpine, the region offers abundant mountain biking. Oakridge is known as the Mountain Bike Capital of Oregon.

Elsewhere in Oregon

The storms sparked 25 fires in south-central Oregon on lands managed by the Fremont-Winema National Forests, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Lakeview District, Oregon Department of Forestry and Sheldon/Hart Mountain National Wildlife Refuge Complex.

There are nine fires in Klamath County and 16 in Lake County.

Interagency fire crews have been dispatched to the fires and continue to be on the lookout for new fire starts.

As of Monday afternoon, all fires were held to 1.5 acres or less, except for the 6-acre Summit Fire located in the Warner Mountains, 11 miles east of Lakeview.