July 25, 2017 at 6:00 p.m.

South Central Oregon firefighters continue to combat lightning fires

LAKEVIEW, Ore. – In the past 48 hours, South Central Oregon Fire Management Partnership (SCOFMP) fire crews and resources have responded to 90 smoke reports, spanning the entire SCOFMP managed area.

The Crane Fire is located four miles south of Lakeview. Today a Type 3 Incident Management Team from Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) took over command of the incident. Throughout the day approximately 200 wildland firefighters, a Single Engine Air Tankers (SEAT) dropping retardant, and helicopters dropping water, worked to reduce the spread potential of the fire. The fire is reported to be 570 acres and is 5 percent contained.

A summary of other fires in the area include:

·         Well Fire – Located on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Lakeview District near Crack in the Ground, reported to be 75 acres. The Eastern Oregon Task Force, two engines, and one helicopter are on the scene and a dozer is being assigned to the incident.

·         Wildcat Fire – Located on the Bureau of Land Management Lakeview District near Diablo Rim was contained at 624 acres today. Three engines from Fort Rock Guard Station responded.

Additionally, rappellers from Prineville were deployed on four fires in the area of Pelican Butte which were immediately 100 percent contained.

Lightning is expected to continue throughout Klamath and Lake counties today, with forecasts suggesting thunderstorms may persist in some areas as late as Friday. Additional resources, including engines, crews, aircraft and heavy equipment, are being brought in to support ongoing fire suppression work and respond to any new wildfire starts.

South Central Oregon Fire Management Partnership is an interagency fire management program that provides comprehensive wildland fire service to south central Oregon and northwest Nevada. The partnership strives to achieve a more efficient, effective and integrated interagency fire management program for all participating agencies on the land administered and protected by each agency.

Participating agencies include: Fremont-Winema National Forest, Lakeview District BLM (Bureau of Land Management), Sheldon-Hart Mountain National Wildlife Refuge Complex, Klamath Basin National Wildlife Refuge Complex, Crater Lake National Park and Klamath-Lake District ODF (Oregon Department of Forestry).

For more information, contact Fire Information Officer, Sarah Saarloos with the South Central Oregon Fire Management Partnership at 541-219-0515 or ssaarloos@fs.fed.us. Daily wildfire/prescribed fire information, maps and social media links can be found at SCOFMP Blog: http://bit.ly/2sK5YHY