Uh, sleeper what? It seems like a strange term.

By now, most of us are familiar with the term 'sleeper cells' that describe terrorist groups here in the U.S., just waiting to be activated. Well, a sleeper fire is also just 'waiting for the call' to jump into action.

After we have lightning storms, some fires are obvious. But many more are smoldering quietly. They're undiscovered, they're barely putting out a puff of smoke. Still, they have the potential to become the next raging wildfire in the northwest.

Give these sleeper fires some warmer weather, a drop in humidity or a little more wind--and boom--they're burning the vegetation around them.

How long can they hide? Some have been known to lay low for a week. We'll see some pop up every day this week. But I suspect most will come to life as we approach the weekend and highs climb back toward 90. If you're a sleeper fire, it's just the kind of weather you needed to wake up and get moving.

Bruce Sussman
bsussman@kgw.com

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