While 156 firefighters try to contain a 144-acre fire in the Siuslaw National Forest northeast of Florence, officials expect a 12-acre fire near Marys Peak to be fully contained and under control by the weekend.
Forest officials said fire crews on the Rock Creek fire near Marys Peak were on a “search and destroy” mission to extinguish remaining hotspots on the fire started by lightning Aug. 25. Federal crews were aided by firefighters from the Oregon Department of Forestry and Miller Timber Services.
But the Three Buttes fire burning in steep, very inaccessible terrain 11 miles northeast of Florence is proving more difficult to fight. Also started by lightning Aug. 25, the fire more than doubled in size to 144 acres during the week and is being fought or managed by 156 personnel, eight engines and 17 pieces of heavy equipment.
A news release Thursday from a management team from Idaho said the blaze is burning in thick, coastal vegetation and mature timber with moderate spread. Firefighting efforts were concentrated on the west and southern portions of the fire, managers said.
In other fire news this week:
- Fire crews from three agencies responded and quickly extinguished a small wildland fire on Cape Perpetua early Monday. The Yachats Rural Fire Protection District was the first to respond to a call that came in at 7:14 a.m. of a fire on Siuslaw National Forest land beside Cummins Peak Road at the intersection of Forest Service Road 5530. Flames were about 10 feet high and the fire was burning an area of about 10 feet by 30 feet when Yachats fire arrived with four firefighters, two engines and a tender, said YRFPD assistant administrator Shelby Knife. The crew extinguished the blaze with 1,000 gallons of water before Central Oregon Coast Fire & Rescue arrived with a brush rig to help mop up. A Siuslaw National Forest fire crew arrived last and will conduct the investigation into the cause of the fire.
- Lincoln County fire agencies – including three firefighters and brush trucks from Central Oregon Coast Fire & Rescue and the Yachats Rural Fire Protection District – went Friday, Aug. 25 to Douglas County after Gov. Tina Kotek invoked the Emergency Conflagration Act following a lightning storm that ignited 19 wildfires. Shi Bucher and John Townley are the COCF&R firefighters who deployed; William Sanning deployed for Yachats. The fires, dubbed the Tyee Ridge complex, was sparked Aug. 24 by lightning, officials said.