PORTLAND — A fire that began Sunday afternoon on the Warm Springs Indian Reservation grew to roughly 1,000 acres in a few hours as it consumed grass and juniper trees, said William Wilson of the Federal Bureau of Indian Affairs Sunday evening.
The blaze began near Rattlesnake Spring along the Warm Springs River about six miles southeast of the Kah-Nee-Tah Resort Lodge in Warm Springs. In August of 2015, the County Line 2 fire forced about 500 guests and staff to evacuate the resort and it was closed for several days while firefighters battled the flames. That fire ultimately burned 67,207 acres in the Warm Springs Reservation.
Wilson said about 50 firefighters were working on Sunday’s range fire, and another 75 were on the way, bringing 10 engines to supplement four already on the line. Crews were staged at a small subdivision called Wolfe Point on the fire’s west flank.
While the fire has created a lot of smoke in the area, if doesn’t immediately threaten homes. There has been no recent lightening in the area so the cause of the fire is under investigation.
