An air tanker drops water scooped from the nearby Columbia River on the Heritage Fire at the mouth of the Deschutes Wednesday afternoon. Mark B. Gibson photo
An air tanker drops water scooped from the nearby Columbia River on the Heritage Fire at the mouth of the Deschutes Wednesday afternoon. Mark B. Gibson photo
A wildfire that started about 10:45 a.m. Wednesday at the mouth of the Deschutes River quickly spread across 300-900 acres and is being fought by firefighters from three different agencies on rotating shifts.
“We don’t yet know the exact size of the fire [due to terrain] but we are estimating that it is about 85 percent contained,” said Rachel Pawlitz, public affairs officer for the U.S. Forest Service’s Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area office, on Thursday morning.
She said the fire started Aug. 10 at Heritage Park and high winds and dry vegetation contributed to its rapid movement through underbrush
“It hasn’t moved all night,” she said of the fire’s progress.
Although there are no road or trail closures at this time, Pawlitz said hikers are asked to be watchful for rolling rocks along the Deschutes River Trail.
She said firefighting activities may have loosened the soil in that area.
“We just need people to be cautious,” she said.
The forest service took the lead yesterday and through the night on battling the blaze, which is being fought today by crews from the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Bureau of Land Management.
Although there is a ranch near the fire area, which has spread through dry terrain, Pawlitz said no evacuations have been ordered.
She said the cause of the fire is still under investigation.
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