CRATER LAKE, Ore. — Crater Lake National Park is no longer under an evacuation warning after firefighters were able keep the blaze from spreading.
Law enforcement officials lifted the evacuation warning, which applied to just part of the park, on Sunday. No tourist facilities have been damaged.
Officials also reopened the entire length of the Pacific Crest Trail after it closed last week because of hazardous conditions caused by the wildfire. Hikers are encouraged to stay on roads and trails while using caution. White ash may indicate deep pockets of heat where underground vegetation continues to burn.
The fire has burned 1,125 acres since it sparked July 28, but stable weather has helped crew contain nearly 60 percent of the flames as of Sunday. The cause remains under investigation.
Park policy bans firefighters from using water from Crater Lake to extinguish the fire. Officials say this helps protect the lake from being exposed to nonnative species.
Separately, firefighters are still battling Oregon’s largest wildfire in the eastern part of the state. Nearly 700 firefighters are fighting the 15.6-square-mile blaze. The fire ignited July 31 and is just 10 percent contained.
Oregon crews have battled 439 wildfires so far this year, according to the state Department of Forestry. Lightning caused nearly 50 of those.
In Washington
A wildfire blaze is no longer threatening a tiny community of Smyrna, just south of Royal City in Central Washington, allowing authorities to call off the mandatory evacuation order the Grant County Sheriff’s office had issued Saturday for an estimated 20 households.
Firefighters successfully kept the flames away from homes overnight and stabilized a primary containment line. Officials are still evaluating how much of the fire is under control.
The cause of the fire, which first sparked on Friday, is still under investigation.
In California
The Soberanes Fire in Monterey County grew to more than 57,500 acres Sunday. More than 5,100 firefighters had it 45 percent contained as of Sunday morning. Air tankers, helicopters, bulldozers and at least 300 fire engines have been deployed to the fire, about 8 miles south of Carmel.
At least 650 people have been evacuated from their homes along the coast, and evacuation orders for various sections of the Pacific Coast Highway near the blaze are still active.
Firefighters have also been forced to rescue people tending to illegal marijuana growing operations when the flames surrounded them.
The second-largest active fire in the state, the Cold fire, has burned more than 5,385 acres at the southern tip of Lake Berryessa in Northern California, said Cal Fire spokeswoman Christina Barker. No structures or people have been harmed, and the blaze is 50 percent contained.
The Goose Fire in Fresno County — the third-largest active fire in the state — had burned 2,241 acres as of Sunday and destroyed nine buildings. The fire was 94 percent contained Sunday morning, and about 225 total firefighters were extinguishing hot spots and cutting containment lines.
