LAKEVIEW, Ore. – The South Central Oregon Fire Management Partnership (SCOFMP) is responding to lightning fires and watching for smoke as thunderstorms continue this morning within the management area.
In the past 24 hours, there have been more than 75 strikes, with approximately 15 positive strikes. In general, positive strikes have an increased likelihood of igniting in a wildfire.
The area affected includes Fremont-Winema National Forest, Crater Lake National Park and Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) lands.
Crater Lake reported one strike on the south end of the National Park and ODF responded to a tenth of an acre lightning fire in Klamath County.
While the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Lakeview District and the Sheldon-Hart Mountain and Klamath Basin National Wildlife Refuge Complexes have not been impacted by lightning yesterday and today, there is a continued chance of thunderstorms in the forecast for the area through Tuesday.
As conditions dry out and warm up, firefighters anticipate discovering more lightning fires in coming days.
Area visitors are asked to be aware of their surroundings and to be prepared for changing conditions. This includes reporting visible smoke that could be from a wildfire.
Later this week, due to forecasted hot and dry conditions, the Industrial Fire Protection Level will be increasing to Level 2. The change goes into effect Friday.
For more information on the IFPL restrictions, please visit www.scofmp.org/lifc.shtml. For information on specific restrictions in areas under ODF’s fire protection, please visit http://www.oregon.gov/ODF/Fire/Pages/Restrictions.aspx.
