Cooler winds expected to help Mount Hood fire

HOOD RIVER, Ore. (AP) — Cooler westerly marine winds may provide more relief for firefighters trying to contain a wildfire on the north side of Mount Hood.

Despite growing a few hundred acres to about 6,200, activity at the Dollar Lake fire was lower than expected Sunday.

Fire management spokeswoman Carolina Hooper says the cooler winds will help with control efforts. She says crews are working to box in the fire from the north and west fronts.

Over the warm weekend, fire officials were worried that the fire would continue to grow. It jumped a mile from Saturday to Sunday.

The fire, which was ignited Aug. 27 during a lightning storm in the Mount Hood Wilderness, is burning about 20 miles southwest of Hood River. It is 3 miles from the Bull Run Watershed, which supplies 900,000 people in Portland with water, and 9 miles from the closest communities to the west.