Wildfire allowed to burn in Crater Lake park
Wildfire allowed to burn in Crater Lake park
21 July 2009
published by www.kpic.com
Ore., USA — Firefighters have almost contained one of two wildfires burning north of Crater Lake but plan to allow the other fire to burn itself out as it runs out of vegetaions in a pumice desert.
Both fires have been burning since a July 3 lightning storm.
The Whitney Fire has burned 92 acres in the north end of the park and is 70 percent contained, according to incident reports. Five 20-person crews, five engines and four helicopters are working the blaze.
The Whitney is burning in a remote area with no road or trail access, so park visitors won’t face any inconvenience. A portion of Diamond Lake to the north of the park remains closed to recreation, however, while helicopters draw water from the lake to dump on the fire.
Two miles to the south of the Whitney Fire, fire managers are allowing the 80-acre Desert Ridge Fire to burn itself out. Incident reports describe the fire as slowly burning towards a pumice desert with little or no vegetation. That means the fire will soon run out of flammable vegetation.
