Black Butte burns. Lookout staffer hiked out with firefighters in middle of night.

[DemoTex]

Cool weather could help crews fight Black Butte fire
But the 300-acre blaze is in a steep, tricky location
By Kate Ramsayer / The Bulletin (Bend, OR)
Published: July 07. 2009 4:00AM PST

A lightning-sparked fire burned through about 300 acres of dense ponderosa pine and fir Monday on the east slope of Black Butte, as fire crews, air tankers and helicopters tried to keep the season’s first big fire from spreading.

The Black Butte II Fire, seven miles northwest of Sisters, was not threatening any residences or structures as of Monday evening, according to officials at the Central Oregon Interagency Dispatch Center.

The fire was reported at 1:15 a.m. Monday, said Janice Madden, spokeswoman with the dispatch center, and grew from around 20 acres at 3 a.m. to about 100 acres at 7 a.m.

“It started kind of mid-slope, and fire likes to go uphill,” she said. “But also because of the wind, it’s spreading a little around the east side (of the butte) and down on the slope as well.”

The fire caused officials to evacuate the Black Butte Lookout and the Indian Ford Campground on Monday morning and close Forest Roads 11, 1120 and 1430. (more ..)

http://www.bendbulletin.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090707/NEWS0107/907070422/1001/NEWS01&nav_category=NEWS01


A helicopter dumps water on the Black Butte II Fire on Monday on the southeast side of Black Butte. The fire, probably sparked by lightning early Monday morning, was about 300 acres as of Monday evening. Notice the fire lookout tower on the butte.


The fire at about 5 am Monday, after the lookout hiked off the butte with USFS firefighters.

Black Butte .. my lookout neighbor to the north of Sisters (near Bend). Note: My lookout location is much safer because: 1. Most of the significant fuels have been cleared from the top of the butte; 2. The road up to my lookout is on the east side with switch backs (many butte roads spiral up, meaning a fire on any side cuts the road) so I have a good escape route for fires on three sides, and; 3. My location has a helicopter landing pad 100 yards from the lookout tower.

[nadinbrzezinski]

1. Stay safe, goes without saying

and yes I appreciated the photo of a F firefighting clearing the tree.

[coffeenap]

2. Thanks for posting this. Many here were concerned about you.

Glad your fellow lookout got out safely!

[YOY]

3. Here I thought this was one of those James Brown after a Mexican meal on a toilet jokes...

Hope the firefighers can pull this off and put it out...

[Suich]

4. Good to hear from you, DemoTex!

There was this post yesterday: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x6002364

Hope Dr. DemoTex is enjoying her visit!

:hi:

[Catshrink]

5. Thanks again for the update...

we were a bit concerned about you and Dr. Demo Tex's safety.

[TahitiNut]

6. Glad you're safe, bro. I hope your "family reunion" was warm and nurturing.

:fistbump: :pals:

[MicaelS]

7. Glad to know you're OK, keep up the good work n/t

[gratuitous]

8. I figured you were out of the line of "fire" (no pun intended)

But it's good to have it confirmed.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

9. wow...that photo! stay safe DemoTex. K&R

[XemaSab]

10. If you have to get out, get out EARLY

My uncle was mapping a fire, and he got trapped in a lookout tower. He was evacuated by helicopter, but it was a very close call.

[stevedeshazer]

11. Just a taste of what's to come in August and September

But I know you know that.

The hike up Black Butte is a nice one.

[malaise]

12. I saw peeps looking for you yesterday

Stay safe DemoTex :grouphug:

[LWolf]

13. I was hiking at the base of Black Butte last week.

And can see the smoke from my home, about 35 miles to the east.

I hope the cooler weather holds. I just wish we'd actually get some rain to go with the summer thunder storms, since clouds are building up again.

[DemoTex]

14. The heavy tankers are dropping on Black Butte this afternoon (DC-10s?)

I can't see the tankers, but I am listening to the whole ball of wax on the USFS TAC frequencies. I have a great view of Black Butte from my lookout (50+ to the SE), especially with my 20X60 tripod-mounted binoculars.

I just went out and snapped a photo of Black Butte. I cropped it and diddled with contrast and whatever else made the smoke stand out against the clouds and haze. It's not a pretty picture, but you can see the smoke on the right (east) flank of Black Butte. The fire is named, as opposed to numbered. It is the Black Butte-II fire.

The burn scars from the Black Butte-I fire are helping slow the fire, as is this cool temperature and slightly higher relative humidity. It is 53-degrees F with 39% RH at the Pine Mountain observatory at 17:05. The winds are WNW at 2 mph.


I snapped this about 20 minutes ago

[LWolf]

15. I can't pull up your pic, but

I can see Black Butte, in the distance, from the southern edge of my place. Reports seemed positive this morning, although there's no prediction about when it will be out, and if the wind picks up things could change pretty quickly. I have a (former) student in Sisters who tells me that while people are keeping a close eye on things, no evacuations are planned, and the quilt show is going forward this weekend.