Oregon Public Broadcasting

The recent rain showers could help firefighters douse the Gnarl Ridge fire in the Mt. Hood National Forest, but more dry weather is just around the corner. Becca Bartleson reports.

Over 3200 acres are still burning at Gnarl Ridge.  Recent showers and high winds that carried them, may help the almost 400 firefighters still working on the mountain.

Fire crews are working quickly to use the rain to their advantage, but dry weather is expected for the weekend and beyond.

Eighteen homes are still evacuated, with another eighteen on alert, and most roads and campgrounds northeast of the blaze remain closed.

Mary Huels of the Gnarl Ridge’s fire crew says dead trees are feeding the flames.

Mary Huels: "This area has had a lot of beetle kill, there’s a lot of root rot, and the fire has been getting into those dead trees, the downed logs and the standing dead and burning very actively and those can be very difficult to put out."

Huels says another issue is dry ground cover. She hopes current rain showers will penetrate the forest canopy to dampen needles and dry brush below.