Sean C. Morgan
Of The New Era
The Oregon Department of Forestry reported only one lightning fire in the Sweet Home area last week following thunderstorms early in the morning on July 22.
But the hot weather and lightning strikes from thunderstorms caused five fires in the Sweet Home Ranger District of the Willamette National Forest, according to the U.S. Forest Service.
Four of the fires were declared controlled and were being monitored on Monday. the fifth, covering four acres, was contained and crews were mopping up.
A 20-person Skookum crew out of Eugene was in the district through Tuesday, July 26, as Forest Service personnel continued to patrol for holdover fires from Thursday and Friday’s storms.
Lightning also hit a tree off Fairview Road between Sweet Home and Lebanon, Forest Protection Supervisor Jim Basting said. The fire was confined to the tree and never made it to the ground.
“We’ve had a lot of lightning strikes on what we call our lightning tracker,” Basting said. ODF had five patrols out July 22 looking for fires at the strike areas. ODF combined resources with the U.S. Forest Service for an air patrol.
Lightning strikes do not mean there’s a fire, Basting said, but lightning strikes can create “sleepers,” which flare up days later.
Fire officials keep an eye on lightning strikes for three or four days, Basting said, but fires can flare up even after that.
The Forest Service reported three small lightning-caused fires on the Willamette National Forest.
Two were reported the morning of July 22 and were essentially over, Public Affairs Specialist Patti Rodgers said.
One of the two fires was on the southern edge of the Sweet Home Ranger District.
The third fire was reported just south of the Middle Santiam Wilderness, Rodgers said. It required crews to hike in. Crews were en route on July 22 to what was reported as a small blue plume of smoke.
Around the state, the ODF fought several fires, none larger than 10 acres.
So far this year, ODF-protected lands have had 30 fires on five acres and 201 human-caused fires on 413 acres.
Through July 22 last year, the ODF had 94 lightning-caused fires on 63 acres and 359 human-caused fires on 468 acres.
Members of the public who see smoke or fires around Sweet Home should call the ODF at 367-6108 or 911, Basting said.
The Forest Service is asking the public to be “extremely careful and attentive to the potential for human-caused fire,” said spokeswoman Joanne West. Campfires must be within campfire rings and and tarea around the fire rings must be cleared to mineral soil.
For information about fire danger and restrictions, contact the USFS Sweet Home District Office at 367-5168.