Fire plagues Oregon's only national park - News - MailTribune.com - Medford, OR

Mail Tribune (Medford, OR — Wayback)

Document text

Fire plagues Oregon's only national park A web cam at Crater Lake National Park shows Wizard Island shrouded by wildfire smoke. [Crater Lake National Park photo] Saturday Aug 5, 2017 at 10:25 AM Aug 5, 2017 at 10:32 AM The nation's deepest lake is obscured by smoke this morning as two wildfires burn on the west side of Crater Lake National Park. The Spruce Lake fire grew to 5,000 acres last night, and only 5 percent of the perimeter has been contained by firefighters, according to InciWeb, a site that tracks fires on federal and state lands. The lightning-caused fire was discovered July 29 on the west perimeter of the park and has been burning southeast toward the caldera, prompting the National Park Service to close West Rim Drive from the North Junction to Rim Village. Most of the trails on the west side of Crater Lake — including the Pacific Crest Trail from the intersection of Dutton Creek Trail north to the North Entrance Road, Boundary Springs, Bald Crater Loop, Bert Creek, Discovery Point, Lightning Springs and Rim Trail from Discovery Point to North Junction, are also closed. Rim Village and trolley and boat tours remain open and running. The nearby Blanket Creek fire, also caused by lightning, has burned 3,852 acres as of Friday, according to the most recent information available. It was discovered July 26 about seven miles east of Prospect on the High Cascades Ranger District of the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest. About 14 percent of the perimeter has been contained, InciWeb says. The fires hit during the Upper Rogue and Crater Lake's busiest tourist season. The national park last year drew more than 700,000 people, breaking attendance records.