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.