Chetco Bar Fire surpasses 100,000 acres

Curry County, Ore.- The Chetco Bar Fire has surpassed the 100,000 acre mark. Thursday, fire officials announced the fire had grown to 102,333 acres with no containment.

The fire is burning in steep, rugged terrain and is still about 5.2 miles northeast of Brookings, Oregon.

According to fire managers, firefighters continued to make progress Wednesday, building a direct fire line and indirect contingency line on the south and southwestern flank of the fire using hand crews, dozers and helicopter bucket drops. Crews also continued to improve defensible space, prepping structures and setting up sprinkler systems around homes.

The locally-known “Chetco Wind” is expected over the fire area beginning Thursday night, creating gusty winds and causing a drop in humidity and much warmer temperatures through Saturday. Firefighters have been preparing for the change in weather and the team will use helicopters and air tankers as weather allows.