2,000 Firefighters Battle 87,000-Acre Oregon Blaze
An 87,000-acre wildfire burned along a mile-long front Sunday, threatening about 60 homes, and the number of firefighters assigned to the blaze was nearly doubled.
A voluntary evacuation order was in effect for the threatened homes near Summer Lake, and several homes in the Silver Lake area also were in danger, said David Widmark, a spokesman at the Northwest Interagency Coordination Center.
Officials dispatched an additional 800 firefighters to the blaze Sunday, bringing the total force to about 2,000.
National Guard troops are expected to arrive today. The blaze was about 15% contained, Widmark said.
In addition to high winds and temperatures, firefighters have faced a threat of electrical arcs as dense smoke creates short circuits between the ground and Bonneville Power Administration high-voltage lines in the area. Blue bolts of electricity from the power lines have killed several cows, and firefighters won’t go near the lines.
Altogether, about 25 major fires active Sunday in Oregon had burned a total of 216,000 acres, officials said.
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