LAKE COUNTY, Ore. – Excellent progress is being made fighting what used to be a fast-growing wildfire burning in Lake County.
The Forest Service said the Cougar Peak Fire was found at about 1:45 p.m. on September 7 approximately 15 miles northwest of Lakeview and about 1.5 miles east of Cottonwood Campground. By noon Wednesday, the fire was an estimated 3,200 acres in size. However, wind and low humidity during the day and evening caused the Cougar Peak Fire to grow by over 17,000 acres in just a few hours.
Thursday night, the fire was estimated to be 37,000 acres in size with 0% containment. By Friday morning, that number skyrocketed to 83,339 acres.
Over the weekend, growth of the wildfire slowed due to significant rainfall. By Monday morning, the Cougar Peak Fire was estimated to be 86,170 acres. Over the next 24 hours, it grew by only 242 acres.
“Excellent progress is being made to secure perimeter lines and cool hot spots,” fire managers said. “Firefighters have also scouted and created miles of direct and indirect line while mopping up areas that threaten the existing containment lines.”
Four structures and six outbuildings were burned.
The Cougar Peak Fire is 6% contained.
Visit https://www.lakecountyor.org/ for the latest evacuation map.
For more details, visit https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/7835/
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