Aircraft stop spread of fire north of Anthony Lakes

Published 9:20 am Tuesday, August 2, 2022

A small lighting-sparked wildfire in the Elkhorn Mountains north of Anthony Lakes is not contained but it is not posing a threat to any structures and is not expected to grow.

The Anthony Creek fire, which was reported at 6:17 p.m. on Sunday, July 31, does not appear to likely to expand after planes dropped fire retardant and helicopters dropped water on it for much of Monday, Aug. 1, said Hunter Petrucci, who works at the Blue Mountain Interagency Dispatch Center in La Grande.

“We have no expectation that it will grow,” he said.

The fire has not been contained yet because it is difficult for fire crews to reach. Petrucci said that some old roads have had to be opened up to allow hand crews to get to the fire.

The fire, which is about 0.7 of an acre, is near Anthony Creek about 2 miles north of Anthony Lakes.