Wildfire filling sky with smoke: Fire near Crater Lake is 1,700 acres

Herald and News

Klamath Falls, Oregon

September 10, 2008

STEVE KADEL

H&N Staff writer

Smoke from a 1,700-acre fire southwest of Crater Lake filled area skies Tuesday as the Middle Fork Fire continued to burn in rugged and steep terrain, the U.S. Forest Service said in a news release.

The fire is 12 miles east of Prospect near Crater Lake, and is not threatening any structures. Fire officials are managing the fire under a “confine and contain” strategy, because of safety reasons resulting from the fire’s remote location on difficult terrain, said Patty Burel of the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest.

Firefighters are continuing to strengthen hand lines on the western side of the fire to ensure it stays within the Sky Lakes Wilderness. Natural barriers are expected to aid in containment. The fire is expected to continue to burn slowly, possibly until it is extinguished by fall rains, Burel said.

The Middle Fork Fire is one of a number of fires ignited by lightning storms in mid-August.