Rain and high humidity around much of the Pacific Northwest has helped firefighters who have been battling blazes all over Oregon and Washington. Officials report that most of the blazes grew little since Thursday and crews are making progress toward containing them.
The Associated Press is reporting that there were 6,000 lightning strikes in Oregon Thursday, but most of them were east of the Cascades. And the 18 new fires that flared up Thursday were mostly 6 acres or less.
Here’s a look at some of the more significant fires still burning.
Oregon fires:
South Fork Complex: As of Friday morning, this blaze near John Day was up to 64,767 acres and was 50 percent contained. That’s up from 40 percent contained Thursday. It is the second-largest fire burning in Oregon right now and 715 people are fighting the blaze. Crews are making good progress securing the perimeter and they are being helped by rain and higher humidity. A Level 1 (go) evacuation order remains in place for the area south of U.S. 26, west of 21 Road and east of42 Road.
Somers Fire: Burning about 30 miles northeast of Enterprise, this blaze was at 27,000 acres Friday morning and is now 35 percent contained. It is burning in grass and timber and heavy dead and down fuels from past burns. It is also being fueled in some areas by buried propane tanks in hunting camps. Much of this fire is in inaccessible terrain in the Hells Canyon Wilderness Area. There are 325 personnel fighting the blaze, which was started by lightning on Aug. 3. Rain and humidity have helped slow the fire.