Forest Service monitoring lightning blaze in Eagle Cap Wilderness near China Cap

Forest Service firefighters are monitoring a lightning-sparked wildfire in the Eagle Cap Wilderness east of Union.

The China Cap fire has burned about 5 acres, according to the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest. It’s not clear when the blaze started, but sometime in the past two weeks, according to a press release from the forest. The fire was reported Sunday afternoon, Sept. 10, according to the Blue Mountain Interagency Dispatch Center. Lightning fires can smolder for a week or more before producing enough smoke to be detected.