By Jennifer Seeker & Faris Tanyos
 
September 17, 2008
 
NEAR CRESCENT LAKE JUNCTION, Ore. -- Firefighters are trying to protect 147 homes from a fire burning in the Deschutes National Forest.
 
Highway 58 between Willamette Pass and Crescent Lake junction is closed. The fire has burned almost 400 acres of private and national forest land.
 
The fire started around 2 p.m. Tuesday afternoon, and investigators believe it was human-caused. People in the area were evacuated Tuesday night and a Red Cross Shelter has been set up at the Crescent Community Center.
 
Meanwhile, smoke from the Middle Fork Fire continues to pour into the Rogue Valley
 
The Middle Fork Fire, one of three fires in the Lonesome Complex near Prospect, is just 15 percent contained. Two of the fires are contained. Fire crews have a camp and a command center in Stewart State Park in Trail.
 
"But 15 percent of it is good enough that if there's huge winds we still have a lot of hot days, we still know that lines gonna hold," says Public Information Officer Ada Takacs.
 
The Middle Fork Fire has burned a more than 7,700 acres. Firefighters are working hard to stop the fire, but it may not stop spreading until heavy fall rains hit.
 
Five other smaller lightning sparked fires caused by Tuesday night's storm are being mopped up.
 
The storm, which the Oregon Department of Forestry called vigorous, dropped about 17 lightning strikes in Northcentral Jackson County.