Oregon wildfires not spreading

PORTLAND, Ore., July 19 (UPI) -- Firefighters in Oregon kept a new wildfire from expanding and were gradually bringing a larger one under control, officials said Saturday.

The Jersey Two fire 17 miles north of Madras in central Oregon was reported late Friday. On Saturday, only 640 acres had been charred by the blaze, The (Portland) Oregonian reported.

Paul Ries, a spokesman for the Northwest Interagency Coordinating Center, said the fire was on grassland along the Deschutes River belonging to two federal agencies, the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service.

The Cold Springs Fire on Mount Adams was 50 percent contained, Ries said. The fire, which had spread through almost 8,000 acres in a week, grew by only 50 acres from Friday to Saturday.

Investigators were trying to determine the cause of the Jersey Two fire. Ries said many of the recent wildfires reported in Oregon appear to be of human origin.