Warm Springs fire fully contained

Published 5:00 am Sunday, July 10, 2011

A wildfire that destroyed two houses on the Warm Springs Reservation in Central Oregon has been fully contained, a fire official said Friday night.

Fire crews reached that milestone at 8 p.m. Friday, said William Wilson, assistant fire management officer with Warm Springs Fire Management.

Nobody was injured as flames raced across about 1,300 acres or 2 square miles of grass, sagebrush and juniper trees Thursday afternoon, threatening about 30 houses in two subdivisions near the town of Warm Springs.

Fire spokeswoman Juanita Majel said the occupants of one house got out before it burned. The other house was vacant.

Aided by lower temperatures and lighter winds, fire crews continued to mop up hot spots Friday.

The blaze signals a turn in fire conditions in the Pacific Northwest. East of the Cascade Range, the late, wet spring is giving way to a warmer, drier summer.

“The grasses are starting to turn,” said Carol Connolly, a spokeswoman for the federal regional fire center. “It’s going from the green to the brown.”

Majel said Friday evening the origin of the fire remains under investigation.

Residents who had been urged to leave on Thursday have been allowed to return home, and a temporary shelter was closed.

About 250 firefighters from agencies on and off the reservation worked the fire. One was treated for dehydration.

In the spring, fire experts forecast below-normal fire conditions in much of the Pacific Northwest through July, with conditions turning normal in August.

A wet winter can delay a fire season, but it can also give vegetation a good start, creating an abundance of fuel once it dries. Conditions west of the Cascades are also reported turning. The Oregon Department of Forestry said Friday it will begin wildfire season in the northwest part of the state on Monday.

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