Crews Gain on Wildfires in Washington and Oregon

Fire crews made good progress in containing wildfires in Oregon and Washington Tuesday into Wednesday, even as a new fire spread from Nevada into Southeast Oregon near the town of McDermitt, Nevada.

Jeree Mills, a spokeswoman for the Northwest Interagency Coordination Center in Portland, said the Holloway fire was burning about 25 miles east of Denio, Nevada on BLM land across grass and scrubland. The fire was reported at 123,551 acres late Wednesday, with about half of the acreage burning in Oregon.

More than 200 firefighters are battling the blaze, which is 5 percent contained.

Mills said there were no lightning strikes in Oregon overnight Tuesday into Wednesday, but about 350 strikes in northwest Washington.

Mills said initial attack was catching most fire starts in Oregon and Washington. Fire weather forecasters say the next ten days will see only scattered lightning strikes, "but no big triggers," she said. "All in all, for this time of year, we're looking pretty good."

Active large fires in Oregon and Washington include:

Barry Point fire: The lightning-sparked fire is burning through heavy, dead and down fuels over steep and rocky terrain 24 miles southwest of Lakeview in the Winema/Fremont National Forest. Strong winds combined with hot and dry conditions led to significant growth Tuesday; the fire was mapped at 1,700 acres. The fire is 0 percent contained.

Geneva 12 fire: Burning through 1,337 acres of sage, juniper and grass on difficult, rocky terrain, the fire briefly threatened about 200 homes and structures 8.5 miles west of Culver, south of Lake Billy Chinook. The fire mostly smoldered Tuesday and did not grow in size. Mills said crews were "buttoning up this fire," and fire bosses were expected to turn over incident command to local authorities, with full containment expected Friday. There are more than 380 people on the fire lines.

Lytle fire: Burning through short grass and brush 3 miles south of Vale, the fire has burned through 5,357 acres and is 70 percent contained. Full containment was expected late Wednesday.

Antoine 2 fire: Burning on state, federal and private lands six miles north of Chelan, Washington. The fire is burning through light, flashy fuels in steep terrain and was last mapped at 6,837 acres. The fire is 90 percent contained as of late Wednesday, with full containment expected Thursday.

Copyright 2012 - The Oregonian, Portland, Ore.

McClatchy-Tribune News Service