Wallowa-Whitman National Forest fire crews are using water drops from helicopters to limit the spread of a 25-acre lightning-sparked fire burning in the Eagle Cap Wilderness about 12 miles south of Wallowa.

The Bear Fire was reported Sept. 9, at 7 acres, according to the Blue Mountain Interagency Dispatch Center, and crews have been monitoring the blaze.

Dry, warm weather on Monday, Sept. 30, contributed to the fire’s growth, and it produced smoke visible in the Wallowa Valley.

The fire is burning in steep terrain between Bear and Goat creeks, and is mainly smoldering on the ground, burning logs and forest litter, according to the Wallowa-Whitman. The fire likely will continue to burn as the dry, warm weather is forecast to continue for the next week.

Brian Anderson, ranger for the Wallowa Mountains Office, said firefighters are employing a “mixed suppression strategy” on the Bear Fire.

“Not full suppression, not full monitoring. The objective is to protect values at risk, such as Forest Service infrastructure and private property, while minimizing firefighter risk,” Anderson said. “Firefighters are not currently engaged in direct fire perimeter control but are employing helicopter water drops to cool the fire edge and point protection actions to protect values at risk through indirect fire line construction and/or strategic firing as needed.”

The fire has not prompted any trail or area closures. People planning to travel in that part of the Eagle Cap Wilderness should call the Wallowa Mountains Office at 541-426-5546.

Under a Forest Service policy in place for more than 30 years, fire managers can monitor, rather than try to extinguish, lightning-caused fires in the Eagle Cap, Oregon’s biggest federal wilderness at 360,000 acres.

Officials typically monitor such fires so long as they don’t threaten private property or public safety.