Trio of forest fires burning south of Oakridge
OAKRIDGE, Ore. -- Lightning blasted the forests south of here Saturday, sparking 25 new forest fires. Firefighters managed to keep most of the fires from growing any larger than one acre, but three of the fires about 24 miles southeast of Oakrdige have grown to 30 acres each and are burning out of control.
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Currently, 255 firefighters are working to keep the fires from growing or converging. The Willamette National Forest dubbed the fires the Tumblebug Complex after the names of the creek drainages where the fires are burning.
Basalt cliffs (below), large snags and remote locations challenge the suppression effort.
No word yet on whether afternoon rains reached the fires.
The fires were zero percent contained as of Wednesday.
The Willamette National Forest has closed Forest Road 2144 and all associated spur roads because of the fires and firefighting activity.
Photos courtesy Tom Berglund
