Two families stay put to face flames after evacuation notice

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Two familes have chosen to stay as a wildfire threatening their homes prompted public safety officials to recommend they evacaute.

The Miller Homestead fire in southeast Oregon has spread to nearly 250 square miles and threatened homes Friday near Harney Lake.

Authorities have recommended evacuations for a handful of homes in the sparsely populated region but officials say two families have chosen to stay.

Residents in nearby Frenchglen, an unincorporated community with a couple of businesses and about a half-dozen homes, have been told to be ready to leave on short notice.

Crews brought in three helicopters to help battle the blaze that has spread quickly through grass and sagebrush since igniting on Sunday.

Daytime weather conditions are still conducive to fire, but firefighters have been able to make progress at night, said spokeswoman Ada Takacf.

"The weather conditions now, they're giving us an opportunity to really make great strides in the evening," Takacf said.

Crews were building fire lines and trying to keep the blaze from crossing State Route 205. The road was briefly closed but had been re-opened with a pilot car.

The fire was 10 percent contained on Friday morning after burning nearly 160,000 acres.

The Red Cross has set up an evacuation shelter at a motel in Burns, about 60 miles north of Frenchglen. Displaced residents parked two campers in the motel parking lot but nobody has required a room, said Tom Farley, director of the Red Cross chapter in Bend.

The agency is prepared to offer food, shelter, medication, eyeglasses, comfort and other support that displaced residents may need, Farley said.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press