PORTLAND (AP) — Lightning has touched off a wildfire in grass and brush south of Steens Mountain in southeastern Oregon, just north of the Nevada border.
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management said Friday the fire is burning in an area of about 3,000 acres, or nearly 5 square miles. The agency said it’s threatening sage grouse habitat.
There’s sparse human presence in the area, and the bureau said the fire isn’t threatening any of the ranches.
It’s called the Denio Basin fire.
Lightning on Thursday was also blamed for a smaller fire on private land near Drewsey, along U.S. 20 east of Burns. The bureau said firefighters kept it from spreading to government lands.
PORTLAND (AP) -- Lightning has touched off a wildfire in grass and brush south of Steens Mountain in southeastern Oregon, just north of the Nevada border.
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management said Friday the fire is burning in an area of about 3,000 acres, or nearly 5 square miles. The agency said it's threatening sage grouse habitat.
There's sparse human presence in the area, and the bureau said the fire isn't threatening any of the ranches.
It's called the Denio Basin fire.
Lightning on Thursday was also blamed for a smaller fire on private land near Drewsey, along U.S. 20 east of Burns. The bureau said firefighters kept it from spreading to government lands.
ENTIAT — Several hundred firefighters worked Friday to contain a fire that has burned grass and brush across nearly 30 square miles in central Washington.
The blaze threatened more than 200 homes and damaged a few outbuildings in Chelan County near Entiat, roughly midway between Seattle and Spokane.
Residents of about 40 homes have been told to evacuate, fire operations spokeswoman Laurie Dowie said Friday. Also, a stretch of highway south of the blaze has been closed.
Weekend forecasts call for a prolonged heat wave with temperature forecasts in the triple digits in the area, prompting concerns the fire could grow.
Meanwhile, a wildfire burning less than 2 square miles near Spokane stopped growing overnight, spokesman Chuck Turley said.
Turley said firefighters working the blaze near Ford in Stevens County hope it doesn’t flare up in the hot, dry conditions forecast for the weekend.
“As heat hit this area some of the areas will have a tendency to rekindle,” Turley said.
He said the Lake Spokane campground has been closed to the public.
The causes for both fires are under investigation.
