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Crews make headway on Columbia Gorge fire

Weather cooperates on Klickitat County blaze

By Craig Brown, Columbian Editor
Published: August 29, 2010, 12:00am

Calm winds, higher humidity, mild temperatures and even a little bit of evening drizzle joined forces with nearly 600 firefighters Saturday to make significant progress toward controlling a wildfire in the Columbia River Gorge.

The Highway 8 Complex fire north of the town of Lyle consumed no new acreage, though firefighters did burn out some pockets to lessen the fire’s potential to grow.

Fire spokesman Stan Bercovitz of the U.S. Forest Service said the fire is estimated to have covered 2,040 acres of mostly grassland west of the Klickitat River. It is considered to be 40 percent contained.

The fire broke out about noon Thursday when a downed power line started two grass fires, which due to the warm, dry wind quickly joined and spread. On Friday, the weather improved and huge air tankers from Troutdale, Ore. dropped 12 loads of retardant on the fire, helping firefighters get the upper hand. On Saturday, the ground crews continued to put a containment line around the perimeter, while helicopters dropped buckets of water on the hot spots. Firefighters were paying particular attention to the north end of the fire, where if left unchecked it could burn into thicker, steeper terrain where their work would be even more difficult.

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“We are heading it off at the top,” Bercovitz said.

Because the helicopters are dipping from the Columbia River, the popular windsurfing beach near Dallesport has been closed for safety reasons, Bercovitz said.

Highway 142 was reopened to normal traffic Saturday evening. Highway 14 has remained open.

Locally, Canyon Road is open with a temporary speed limit of 25mph due to fire engines operating along the road. Fisher Hill Road, which leads into the heart of the fire, is still closed to all but fire traffic.

Property damage has been limited to a barn and two outbuildings. No serious injuries have been reported.

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