A late-season lightning storm sparked two wildfires southeast of Baker City on Friday, but crews from multiple agencies doused both blazes over the weekend.

Despite the rapid response, though, one of the fires burned across 209 acres in northern Malheur County, an indication that grass, brush and timber remain exceedingly dry, and the fire danger is extreme.

“The latest fuels sampling indicates that the fuels are drier than they have been all summer long,” said Al Crouch, fire mitigation/education specialist for the Bureau of Land Management’s Vale District. “That trend will likely not change until we experience a significant moisture event.”

A rainstorm, in other words.

The National Weather Service is forecasting a chance of showers starting Wednesday night and continuing through Friday night, but it doesn’t appear to be the “season-ending event” that fire managers such as Crouch await each fall.

Crouch said even a modest amount of rain can briefly reduce the risk of fire spreading in grass, which is considered “fine” fuel.

But grass can return to its former tinder-like condition in as little as a day, he said, especially if temperatures rise and the wind blows.

The situation is different for heavier fuels, such as large logs on the ground.

“It takes a long time after a full summer of drying for those heavy fuels to recover with moisture,” Crouch said.

Volunteers from the Vale and Burnt River Rangeland Fire Protection Associations were on alert for new fires Friday as thunderstorms, which are relatively rare beyond mid-September, rolled across Malheur and southern Baker counties, Crouch said.

Firefighters from those agencies reported the Becker Creek fire north of Brogan, about 40 miles southeast of Baker City, just before midnight Friday.

They worked along with firefighters from the BLM and the Forest Service to stop the fire, which burned in grass and sagebrush, Crouch said.

Crews mopped up the blaze Saturday.

The second lightning-sparked fire was reported just after midnight near California Mountain, about 10 miles south of Durkee and near the Baker-Malheur county line.

Firefighters from the BLM and the Oregon Department of Forestry stopped that fire at 2 acres, Crouch said. The blaze burned in grass and sagebrush with some timber, Crouch said.

The quick response to the two fires was vital because firefighting resources are limited locally due to the focus on the devastating blazes burning in western Oregon, said Sam Delong, duty officer at the BLM’s Vale District.

“We have several assets assisting in the firefighting effort on the west side,” Delong stated in a press release. “Even with the limited resources, through information sharing, good coordination, and a joint response we were able to get a handle on these fires quickly. At the time of the fire call, it’s not as important as what side of the fence the fire is on, but that we work together to act quickly and keep fires small.”

Crouch said that although the fire risk will remain high until significant rain falls, the challenge for firefighters isn’t quite as severe as it was a month ago — at least so long as winds are gentle.

With the equinox passing, nights tend to be cooler with higher humidity, and the daily “burn period” — the hours when a fire tends to burn hottest — is shorter than during the summer, Crouch said.

“We’re at the point in the season when we typically start to see a downward trend in the fire danger,” he said. “We’re starting to see that, but it’s slow in coming.”

Bans on open fires on all public land in the region remain in effect, along with fire season restrictions on private property and lands protected by the Oregon Department of Forestry. You can check current fire restrictions at https://www.blm.gov/office/vale-district-office