Ashwood, Ore. – Northeast of Madras, the Cram Fire grew from 4,500 acres Monday afternoon to an estimated 28,635 acres Tuesday morning. “That heat signature is going every direction and it’s hot in every direction. So that’s a tough spot to be in right now,” says Kassidy Kern, with the Central Oregon Fire Management Service. She says it moved into the small community of Ashwood Monday, prompting expanded evacuations, and threatening homes and regional infrastructure, “There are lines that are going through there: Bonneville Power and Central Oregon Electric. Bonneville Power actually has a lineman on-scene in case they need to do work.”
The Cram Fire is one of two incidents declared conflagrations by the Governor this week. The Highland Fire is burning outside Prineville. It was more accurately mapped yesterday at 719 acres. Kern says one key factor kept it from growing as large as the Cram Fire, burning due north, “The Highland Fire, luckily, had folks on it immediately. They happened to be in the area. There were BLM and Crook County engines that were right in- within blocks of where this fire started.” But both, she says, have been challenging under the conditions, “Minimum temperatures in the low 90s, could be up to mid 90s. We have gusts ranging from 20-30 miles an hour.”
A High Desert Type 3 team from Eastern Oregon is now in unified command with the Oregon State Fire Marshal. They’re looking for possible containment line opportunities in steep and roadless country.
Authorities believe the Highland Fire was human caused, although the specific spark has not been determined. The cause of the Cram Fire is under investigation, but Kern says it started along Highway 97, “We are having an issue with human-caused starts right now. When we look at the level of risk that we’re putting on our communities, these fires are often close to homes or to public infrastructure. And that’s something over which we have complete control.” She says it’s even more critical to follow fire restrictions, “Because at one point, fire prevention was really about saving our wildlands. Well now it’s about saving our communities.”
