Eastern Oregon received new reinforcement Friday to potentially help with fire suppression efforts: snow.
"Fire Behavior analyst Tobin Kelley doesn't have active fire behavior to observe today, as it is snowing this afternoon on the 1640 Road near Roads End," writes the Canyon Creek Complex information on its Facebook page.
Canyon Creek Complex Fire Facebook page
Temperatures dropped between 20 and 26 degrees Friday morning before snow fell on the southeastern part of the Canyon Creek Complex. The high humidity also brought some much-needed rain to John Day.
Mary Whister, a meteorologist with National Weather Services in Pendleton, said it’s not unusual for this area to receive snow this time of year, but it’s usually at higher elevations.
The cooler temperatures and rain are welcome, but crews don’t want too much of a good thing.
"The amount we're expecting is good news," said Whister.
NWS said if it gets too cold, it could make it difficult to night crews to work. And too much precipitation can make it difficult to perform burnouts and there is also a risk of debris runoff.
By Saturday morning, the area had received .30 inches of rain.
NWS issued a flash flood watch for much of the John Day basin Friday afternoon through Saturday evening.
The East Oregonian reports that a significant amount of Canyon Creek's drainage has been damaged by wildfire. Many damaged areas are steep slopes covered by debris, trees and ashy ground. The lack of vegetation increases risks of "catastrophic flooding."
