More firefighters were brought in to battle the Lobster Creek Fire on the southern Oregon coast Wednesday, a move aimed at stopping the blaze from escaping or rekindling. The fire near Gold Beach is 15 percent contained and has burned about 450 acres, Oregon Department of Forestry officials said. Workers have begun mop-up operations after establishing containment lines. The Lobster Creek Fire started Sunday afternoon within a Curry County park and subsequently spread to private industrial timberlands.
Fire broke out on the southern slope of Bend’s Pilot Butte Wednesday afternoon, sending up black smoke and forcing closure of Highway 20, prompting evacuation of nearby apartments just hours before their Fourth of July fireworks show. The fire did spark a widespread power outage affecting about 27,000 power customers for more than an hour. The fire did not prevent the big fireworks show from launching as planned atop the butte Wednesday night.