Central Point, Ore. – Firefighters tackled 16 fires caused by Sunday’s storm on Oregon Department of Forestry protected lands.
The lightning-caused fires in Jackson and Josephine Counties were kept small, according to officials with ODF’s Southwest Oregon District.
On Monday, crews will follow up and work to spot new fires with an aircraft.
ODF said lightning-caused fires can be “tricky” and take days, even weeks for visible smoke to show up.
According to the U.S. National Weather Service, 202 lightning strikes were observed in Jackson County and 226 were observed in Josephine County.
832 strikes were recorded in Klamath County, where crews responded to a small wildfire on Medicine Mountain near Beatty, Oregon.
With a total of 1,811 recorded strikes in southern Oregon Sunday, forecasters expect more lightning on Monday.
A “red flag” warning is in effect of six states including Oregon from 11:00 a.m. until 11:00 p.m. The South Central Oregon Fire Management Partnership expects abundant lightning on dry fuels in Lake and Klamath Counties.
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