Beatty, Ore. – The ‘Ferguson’ fire has blackened nearly 200 acres in Klamath County.

The fire broke out shortly after noon in the Ferguson Mountain area.

Bob Dillon of the Beatty Community Action Team says the fire is burning ins a sparsely populated area about 5 miles northeast of Beatty…

“There’s probably half a dozen families back in there, and the composition – it’s pretty rough terrain back in there. It’s all dirt roads, people are pretty spread out.”

Sheriff’s deputies have been warning those families to be prepared to evacuate at a moment’s notice.

At least one outbuilding has been lost, and several other structures are threatened.

Crews have been busy fighting the fire from the air, and on the ground.

Smoke from the fire was visible from nearly 30 miles away.

The exact cause of the fire is still under investigation…and ground crews are still working to get a line around the fire.

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