Weekend lightning storm starts fires in Wallowa County

Written by Katy Nesbitt September 19, 2012 11:24 am

A lightning storm early Sunday morning started fires on the Wallowa-Whitman

National Forest and private land outside of Wallowa.

A 15-acre fire is burning in the Eagle Cap Wilderness near Red’s Horse Ranch.

District Ranger Mary DeAguero said the fire was discovered at 3 p.m. Tuesday and the

Forest Service has been fighting it with helicopter bucket drops.

The fire on Bald Mountain is in terrain too difficult to access by fire crews, so

helicopters will continue to drop water on it today.

DeAguero said she will fly over the fire today to get a better assessment.

On Sunday afternoon, Oregon Department of Forestry crews responded to a fire

on Smith Mountain; partly on non-industrial private land and partly on Hancock

Timber land.

Mike Shaw of the department’s Wallowa Unit said a lightning storm came

through the area around midnight Saturday and started the 27-acre Smith Mountain

Fire. It is now 100 percent contained and 30 percent mopped up. Shaw said mop-up will

continue today.

The Bear Gulch Fire, reported Sunday afternoon 18 miles east of Enterprise, was stopped at 44 acres by and is 95 percent contained.