Firefighters work to contain blazes at Warm Springs
Published 5:00 am Sunday, July 24, 2005
About 300 federal, state and local firefighters were working Saturday to suppress three fires burning in grass, sagebrush and juniper trees on the Warm Springs Reservation.
All three fires were detected Friday. No injuries or evacuations were reported, according to a news release.
Fire managers’ priority was suppression of the Shitike Creek Fire, which had burned an estimated 500 acres two miles west of Warm Springs, according to the release. The blaze had been close to the West Hills subdivision on Friday, but was not threatening any structures and was about 50 percent contained Saturday afternoon. There was no estimate on when it might be fully contained.
Fire investigators with the Central Oregon Arson Task Force, Warm Springs Police Department and Bureau of Indian Affairs are investigating the cause of the fire and another called the Schoolie Rim Fire.
The Schoolie Rim Fire, estimated at about 1,130 acres, was 90 percent contained Saturday afternoon.
Firefighters had successfully protected structures at the Warm Springs National Fish Hatchery from the blaze Friday night, the release stated.
The lightning-caused Rattlesnake Fire, which consumed about 2,500 acres, was 40 percent contained Saturday with full containment expected tonight, the release reported. Burning six miles northeast of Warm Springs on the west side of the Deschutes River, the fire had threatened some rural homesites in the area.
On Saturday, firefighting resources on the fires included 11 hand crews, 25 fire engines and three helicopters.