200 Homes Evacuated as Fire Rages in Oregon

Residents of 200 homes were forced to evacuate Saturday as a raging wildfire burned about 3 miles away, fire officials said.

The fire grew to 10,000 acres from 6,000 acres in just hours and was burning on very steep terrain in prime wildfire conditions, said Marc Hollen, spokesman for the Northwest Fire Coordination Center.

About 660 firefighters were battling the blaze, started by lightning last week, he said. The fire, about 3 miles from Three Rivers in central Oregon, jumped containment lines late Friday.

Last week, the fire jumped the Metolius River and began burning in an area without roads in the Deschutes National Forest, Hollen said.

The wildfire is so remote that firefighters have used boats to get there.

Officials had evacuated about 20 summer homes along the Metolius River as a precaution, but no homes have burned yet, Hollen said.

There was no estimate for containment, he said.

In Wyoming, a blaze on the east side of the Grand Canyon in Yellowstone National Park grew to more than 7,300 acres Saturday.

Several trails and campsites near the blaze have been closed, but all roads and major tourist attractions in Yellowstone have remained open.

Five other wildfires in the state that have scorched more than 30,000 acres were not contained Saturday.