Eastern Oregon Watches, Worries About Lightning

WILDFIRE  ENVIRONMENT 

By Ethan Lindsey

Bend, OR  August 8, 2008 1:52 a.m.

Eastern and central Oregon got pounded by rain, lightning, and even hail Thursday.

And after the thunderstorms passed, regional firefighters put out hundreds of small fires across the state.

Crews in Umatilla and Morrow counties successfully battled at least 9 small fires.

Jean Nelson Dean, with the Central Oregon Interagency Fire Dispatch Center, estimates there were 2400 lightning strikes in the region.

She said after that, firefighters responded to 100 emergency calls.

Jean Nelson Dean: “We've experienced quite a lot of weather here in one day. And, though we have been very successful, we still have work ahead of us. Our job is to keep monitoring and keep being ready and prepared. And so that's what we are trying to do.”

Small sparks can smoulder unnoticed for days after a thunderstorm, and then, under the right conditions, blow up into a wildfire.

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© 2008 OPB