BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) – Thunderstorms hit Central Oregon with numerous lightning strikes Thursday, sparking nearly 20 fires that crews rushed to contain, mostly at small size — one west of Bend thanks to a fortunate air tanker flyover and retardant drop — and a big Bend power outage. Crews were still tackling several larger fires Friday.
“We had some good luck there,” Deschutes National Forest spokeswoman Jean Nelson-Dean said Friday. “We had an air tanker already crossing the area, saw that there was smoke and then worked to get retardant on the ground, so we can get ground resources there as quickly as possible.”
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