UPDATE: Whitewater Fire closes 117,000 acres in Mount Jefferson, will remain in place through eclipse.

——

DETROIT — As the Whitewater Fire continued to expand, fire officials took their biggest steps yet to limit entry to the Mount Jefferson Wilderness.

Almost half of the 111,177-acre wilderness and 30 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail is now closed, officials announced late Saturday.

At the same time, a large swath of Detroit Lake was also closed to allow large “scooper planes” to pick up water to fight a blaze now 5,421 acres.

The fire crossed the South Fork Breitenbush River and is expected to expand north and south in the coming days. The blaze is zero percent contained and remains mostly in the wilderness area. The flames remain three to four miles from State Highway 22.

A total of 257 people are working the fire including 10 ground teams and 7 helicopters.

A meeting to update the public on operations was planned for 3 p.m. Sunday at Detroit City Hall (160 Detroit Avenue N).

Here are details on the closures:

Detroit Lake

To allow scooper planes to safely pick water up from the reservoir, officials closed the southern half of the lake to boat traffic beginning Saturday.

The official closure runs from Detroit Dam to Mongold, and south of Piety island.

The area open to boats is from Mongold to the upper arm, north of Piety, and up Hoover arm.

The planes won't fly every day — they shifted to the Rebel Fire on Sunday — but will be dipping when conditions allow on Detroit Lake.

It's unclear how long the closure will remain, but it could last five to six days, incident spokesman Marcus Kauffman said.

(Story continues below)

Pacific Crest Trail

A stretch of roughly 30 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail is closed in the Mount Jefferson Wilderness.

The closure runs from Minto Pass, near Wasco Lake, northward to Breitenbush Lake.

Thru-hikers on the PCT will have multiple options about where they can exit the trail. Those traveling north can exit at Marion Lake Trail, while those coming south must exit at Breitenbush Lake.

Mount Jefferson Wilderness

The entire northern half of the Mount Jefferson Wilderness is now closed, officials announced.

The closure includes everything north of Marion Lake and 14 major trailheads and Forest Service roads. It includes popular hiking and backpacking destinations Jefferson Park, Pamelia Lake and Carl Lake, among others.

Click here for a map of the closure.

List of trailheads closed

Bingham Ridge

Minto Mountain

Pamelia Lake

Whitewater Creek

Cheat Creek

Triangulation Peak

Leone Lake

South Breitenbush

Crown Lake

Bear Valley / Rockpile Lake

Cabot Lake

Jefferson Lake

Brush Creek