By Patrick Lair
Albany Democrat-Herald | Posted: Thursday, September 7, 2006 12:00 am
SWEET HOME - Favorable weather has helped dissipate the flames of the Middle Fork wildfire, officials say, but large amounts of burned timber have yet to be extinguished.
Higher humidity and lower temperatures have aided firefighters in halting the spread of the 1,050-acre fire, now 35 percent contained, Safety Officer Kellie Carlsen said today. The absence of strong eastern winds and heavy inversion have also helped.
Inversion is when warm air forces a pocket of cold air into a valley.
"If not for the weather, this could be a very different fire right now," information officer Dave Wells said.
Despite the favorable outlook for the fire, an infrared photo taken from the air last night showed a bright band circling the entire area, Wells said, meaning there is still a lot of heat in the ground.
The heat comes from an abundance of timber burning in the soil.
Firefighters will now chip away at the fuel by hand in an effort to tighten the perimeter around the fire.
Crews will also burn a small area on the north side of the fire today, estimated at 20 acres, between the bulldozer line and the existing fire.
Six more crews arrived Wednesday, bringing the total number of workers to around 630, with the possibility of 40 more workers arriving Friday.
Carlsen said a danger now for the workers is the abundance of old snags from previous fires that can tumble down steep terrain, sometimes for 500 feet. Professional fallers have been brought in to knock down the snags before crews enter a dangerous area, she said.
At current size, the Middle Fork fire is one of the largest fires to burn near Sweet Home in the last 30 years.
In May 1987, the Calapooia Fire, caused by a logging operation, burned about 2,000 acres south of Sweet Home, Forest Protection Supervisor Jim Basting said.
In 1980, the Galena Fire, an escaped slash burn, consumed about 1,000 acres.
Several lightning strikes had been spotted in the Rocky Top area in the days preceding the Middle Fork fire but officials are still investigating the exact cause of the fire.
In other areas, the Puzzle Creek fire remains 35 percent contained at 5,850 acres, information officer Kris Eriksen reported. Crews Wednesday lit a burnout between Moon Creek and Ann Lake, and today will burn between Ann Lake and Marion Lake, for a total of about 400 acres.
Both the Lake George and Black Crater fires have been turned back over to the Deschutes National Forest office.
Quartzville Creek Road remains closed from Sunnyside Park to the junction of forest roads 11 and 1131, and the Lewis Creek County Park will continue to be used as a fire camp for the remainder of the fire.
Foster Reservoir is still open to the public.
Patrick Lair can be reached at 258-6441 or patrick.lair@lee.net.