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Eric Dolson, Publisher

Lightning sparks Squaw Creek Canyon blaze
By Jim Cornelius

Sisters firefighters knocked down an out-of-control yard burn off Crooked Horseshoe on Monday, May 28. Burn season is over.

Fire season hit the Sisters country abruptly in the past week.

A lightning strike kindled a wildfire in Squaw Creek Canyon late on Wednesday afternoon, May 23. Then, as winds picked up over the weekend, several yard burns threatened to create conflagrations (see photo).

According to a Central Oregon Interagency dispatcher, the Squaw Creek Canyon fire started in the canyon at a remote spot north of Sisters and burned up onto the rim.

One witness reported seeing pine trees along the canyon rim explode like flares in the night.

Phil Arends, whose home is nestled in the canyon, had an unwanted premium view of the conflagration that raged just across Squaw Creek.

"Standing on our deck... it was there. It was right in front of us," he said.

Firefighters jumped on the fire with both boots Wednesday night to keep it from gaining ground and threatening the rural homes in the area.

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"The initial response was 11 engines, one bulldozer, two air tankers one lead plane and a load of smokejumpers," said a dispatcher.

With conditions in May resembling the August height of fire season, firefighters are taking no chances, taking every blaze seriously.

Winds picked up on Thursday afternoon, causing the blaze to move eastward on top of the rim and southward down the canyon. The terrain is steep and rugged, with limited accessibility, making it difficult to fight the fire on the ground.

Homeowner Susan Arends described the toiling ground crews that worked the fire a few hundred yards from her home:

"They look like a row of ants," "It's amazing how fast they move from point A to point B. It's steep and they're carrying packs."

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The fire was under control by Sunday. Aerial reconnaissance estimated the fire are at 45 acres; previous estimates from the ground had estimated the size of the fire at 80 acres.

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