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Bybee Fire Smolders Near Crater Lake

Tom Banse
/
Northwest News Network
The Bybee Fire sends up smoke on the west side of Crater Lake National Park in Oregon.

About a dozen wildfires are currently burning around the Northwest. The Bybee fire is a small one at 50 acres. It is uncontained and sending up smoke on the west side of Crater Lake National Park in southern Oregon.

From a fire lookout on the rim of Crater Lake four miles away, you cannot see any flames. There are, however, a ballet of aircraft circling the fire. Smoke jumpers parachuted Friday afternoon, and a water bomber has dropped several loads. Ground crews are fighting the fire as well.

The fire has closed a small segment of the Pacific Crest Trail, which is quite close by. But the smoke is blowing away from the pristine blue of Crater Lake. So the hordes of tourists there on the eve of a beautiful sunny weekend are so far unaffected.

The Bybee fire was discovered Thursday afternoon. The cause is under investigation.

Crater Lake National Park is still open to visitors and planned events there are on schedule.

Now semi-retired, Tom Banse covered national news, business, science, public policy, Olympic sports and human interest stories from across the Northwest. He reported from well known and out–of–the–way places in the region where important, amusing, touching, or outrageous events unfolded. Tom's stories can be found online and were heard on-air during "Morning Edition" and "All Things Considered" on NPR stations in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho.