The newest fire burning in Central Oregon, the Grandview Fire, has quickly spread to 4,000 acres northeast of Sisters.
As the fire intensifies, Jean Nelson-Dean with the Deschutes National Forest says this one could be difficult to contain.
“This fire is burning even without strong winds on it really quickly,” Nelson-Dean said. “Very intense fire behavior.”
The July heat is not helping the situation.
“We’re seeing active burning at night, which is never a good sign,” Nelson-Dean said. “We like to see the fire kind of calm down in the evening so we can get a better handle of it.”
Nelson-Dean says multiple resources are being utilized including the forest service, Bureau of Land Management, Oregon Department of Forestry, and fire fighting resources as they are available.
Firefighters worked through Sunday night to create preliminary containment lines around the majority of the fire
“Right now we have engines, we have firefighters on the ground, and we are using air resources,” Nelson-Dean said. “Right now we are, across the region, at what we call a preparedness level four. Which means that resources are tight.”
The fire is actively burning despite numerous retardant and water drops from air crews.
“What retardant does is it kind of slows the progress of the fire and allows us to get in and directly fight the fire with our on the ground resources,” Nelson-Dean said. “Our engines, and our firefighter crews.”
The fire’s cause is still under investigation, but regardless of how it started, Nelson-Dean sees the Grandview Fire as a good reminder that it is everyone’s job to prevent this from happening.
“We don’t need any more fires,” Nelson-Dean said.
To receive updates on fires in our area, text COFire to 888-777 or learn more at centraloregonfire.org.
