Cooler weather could provide firefighters in Central and Eastern Oregon with a brief reprieve.

Morning showers expected today could dampen the tinder-dry vegetation in Central Oregon.

“What we’re going to be looking at is a cool-down heading in the weekend and temperatures a little bit below normal for this time of year,” said Jon Bonk, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Pendleton.

High temperatures should remain in the upper 70s and low 80s before climbing into the 90s on Monday, he said.

Today and Friday will be partly cloudy in Central Oregon, but skies are expected to be sunny and clear over the weekend, according to the National Weather Service’s Web site.

Humidity levels have risen around most of the state, another bonus for firefighters, according to Northwest Interagency Coordination Center spokesman Roger Peterson.

The center, based in Portland, provides information and logistical support to help fire suppression efforts in Oregon and Washington.

He said moisture levels in the fuel are also expected to increase around the state, except in southeastern Oregon.

“Even in southeast Oregon, like the Egley (Complex) near Burns, they were getting some higher humidity levels,” Peterson said.

He said showers and thunderstorms were reported Tuesday and Wednesday in parts of Central Oregon, including a quarter-inch of rain in the Warm Springs area, where the Warm Springs Agency Lightning Complex is burning.

The complex of fires prompted Deschutes National Forest officials to close the area within forest roads 14, 1140, 1170, 1180 and 1490 and the Metolius River on Tuesday, according to InciWeb, a fire information site affiliated with the Bureau of Land Management and other agencies.

The Metolius River was closed to boating from the mouth to Bridge 99, InciWeb reported.

The Monument Complex, burning roughly five miles north of Monument, prompted officials to close the national forest between Ditch Creek and state Highway 207, near Forest Road 21, according to the Web site.

Forest Road 22, also known as Sunflower Flat Road, and forest roads 21, 23 and 2301 in the area were also closed Tuesday, InciWeb reported.

No state or federal highways in Central or Eastern Oregon were closed because of wildfire as of Wednesday evening, according to the Oregon Department of Transportation’s Web site.

And cooler, wetter weather should help keep fires from raging out of control.

“With cooler weather, temperatures and higher humidities across most of the region, that will hopefully allow firefighters to get a better handle on some of these existing large fires,” Peterson said. “The weather right now is good news.”

The reprieve may be short-lived, however, as temperatures climb next week, drying out vegetation. Dry lightning expected to pepper Eastern Oregon and Washington around Tuesday or Wednesday could start dozens of new fires, he said.

Peterson said he hoped the cooler temperatures would allow firefighters a day or two of rest before getting back to work.

While the 15 fires burning around Central and Eastern Oregon are all lightning-caused, Peterson said residents should remain mindful of restrictions in place to minimize the risk of human-caused wildfires.

“We’re having a pretty decent period right now, but if we dry out and get lightning next week, any human starts that we can prevent will definitely help,” he said.

To learn more

For more information about fire restrictions on public lands, call 383-5561 or go to http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/centraloregon.

Inside: Complete update of the conditions of the state’s wildfires, Page C6.