UPDATE: Whitewater Fire now 5,420 acres, brings major closures to Detroit Lake, Pacific Crest Trail and Mount Jefferson Wilderness.

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The Whitewater Fire burning east of Detroit grew to 5,200 acres Saturday morning, leading officials to expand operations and close additional roads and trails.

The fire crossed the South Fork Breitenbush River and is expected to expand northward in the Mount Jefferson Wilderness.

In response, officials closed the south and southeast section of Detroit Lake to allow large “scooper planes” to pick up additional water to fight the fire. The only area open to boats is north of Piety Island.

In addition, a large area that includes popular Pamelia Lake Trail and roughly 24 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail has also been closed in the wilderness area.

A more detailed map of the closure will be available Sunday.

A meeting to update the public on operations is planned for 3 p.m. Sunday at Detroit City Hall.

No evacuations are currently planned in the Detroit or Marion Forks area.

“At the meeting we’ll present information on fire conditions and what we have planned,” incident spokesman Howard Hunter said.

The fire is expected to expand northward this weekend, Hunter said, burning on the north side of the South Fork Breitenbush toward Dinah-Mo Peak. The fire remains six to seven miles from the Olallie Lake area and no major structures are currently in its path, Hunter said.

“The fire will probably make a run today to the north, now that the river isn’t stopping it,” he said. “People will probably see a big smoke column.”

The fire is also expected to expand southward, although much more slowly, he said, along Woodpecker Ridge.

The fire remains about four miles from State Highway 22.

“The broad goal is to keep it from crossing Highway 22,” said Marcus Kauffman, incident spokesman, on Thursday. “We’re trying to keep it as close to the wilderness as is possible.”

The fire is currently burning right on the edge of Jefferson Park, a popular alpine basin of mountain lakes at the base of Oregon’s second-tallest mountain. Small spot fires have burned in Jefferson Park, but the park hasn’t been engulfed in flames.

“We don’t anticipate Jefferson Park burning too much,” said Eric Johnson, deputy fire staff officer. “It has a lot of natural protection and hasn’t burned much in the past, whereas the forest around it has been burned many times over the years.”

The cause of the fire is a month-old lightning strike in the Whitewater Creek area, Kauffman said. He said lightning struck a tree about 100 yards off Whitewater Trail and smoldered for weeks. Eventually, the tree fell down and ignited a pile of brush and timber.

The fire comes at a difficult time. Tens of thousands are expected to descend on Detroit and the Mount Jefferson area for the total solar eclipse on Aug. 21. Many had planned to view the event from now-closed Jefferson Park.

Grady McMahan, district ranger for Willamette National Forest, previously said fire crews would do everything in their power to have the area open by the eclipse.

However, given the fire's growth, that looks increasingly unlikely.

A fire camp has been established at Hoodoo Ski Area.

Previous Whitewater Fire coverage:

Whitewater Fire near Detroit expands slightly but major growth possible by weekend

Whitewater Fire triples to 4,500 acres, new closures planned

Whitewater Fire blows up to 1,500 acres near Detroit, now on the doorstep of Jefferson Park alpine basin

List and map of closures and expected closures

(Additional closure to be announced this weekend)

● All trails into Jefferson Park

● Pamelia Lake / Hunts Cove trails

● Around 24 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail

● Whitewater Trail #3429 is closed from its origin to the junction with the Pacific Crest Trail #2000.

● Cheat Creek Trail #3441 is closed from its origin to the junction with the Triangulation Trail #3373.

● Triangulation Trail #3373 is closed from its junction with trail #3374 (near Triangulation Peak) to the terminus at Whitewater Trail #3429.

● Crag Trail #3364 from its origin to the terminus at the Triangulation Trail #3373.

● Pacific Crest Trail (#2000) North of Woodpecker Trail (#3442) to Breitenbush Lake.

● South Breitenbush Trail (#3375) East of Bear Point Trail (#3342) up to the PCT (#2000).

● Forest Service Road 2243, Whitewater Rd. (at Highway 22) is closed to avoid conflicts with fire traffic.