Thanks to the quick responses of U.S. Forest Service and Oregon Department of Forestry firefighters, Wallowa County’s first fires of the season burned only about 1.5 acres of land. The two fires, located outside Lostine and Flora respectively, started with lightning strikes from a June 26 thunderstorm.

Blue Mountain Interagency Fire Center responded to a report of a fire located six miles up the Lostine Canyon Road on the edge of the Eagle Cap Wilderness at 2 p.m.

Because of the steep terrain on the upper one-third of the slope and its location on a wilderness area, the center dispatched the Blue Mountain Rappeler Team by helicopter. Treacherous winds allowed only two rappelers, one an incident commander, to reach the scene before the helicopter was forced to return to Enterprise.

Jerry Garrett, assistant center manager of fire center, said that the two crew members battled the blaze, which burned in heavy dead and down brush and timber until two other crew members arrived at 7 p.m. The crew managed to halt the fire in its tracks, burning little more than an acre. The four members of the crew were still on theschene as of the morning of June 27 with containment expected by late morning.

At 4:30 p.m. the same day, the Oregon Department of Forestry office in Wallowa fielded calls from area landowners regarding a lightning- caused fire about three miles southwest of Flora.

Joseph Goebel, wildland fire supervisor for the Wallowa ODF office, said response time to the fire was a half-hour as he already had two Type-6 fire engines stationed on the North Highway looking for lightning strikes.

Local landowners met the trucks on the highway and guided them to the scene where the fire burned in pine needles and grass. Firefighters held the blaze to one-quarter acre and had it controlled and contained within 90 minutes. The ODF sent out a reconnaissance plane the following morning to examine the scene.

Both the USFS and ODF warned Wallowa County citizens that fire season is here. For specific questions call the Wallowa ODF office at 541-886-2881 or the Eagle Cap Ranger district Office at 541-426-4978.