GOVERNMENT CAMP, Ore. -- Thunderstorms that sparked fires around Mt. Hood ended up helping fire crews in the forest as rain and cooler temperatures follwed suit Wednesday.

Interagency Fire Command Center

A view of the Bridge Creek fire from firefighters on the fire line.

The Gnarl Ridge fire jumped its boundaries and burned through an unoccupied "spike" camp set up by firefighters over the weekend and structures at the Tilly Jane and Cloud Cap campgrounds were wrapped in a protective foil coating, and sprinklers were set up, Jeree Mills, spokeswoman for the fire dispatchers at the Northwest Interagency Coordination Center, said.

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But ground and air crews were successful at tamping down the flames, with about 40 percent containment Wednesday.

Residents of the Cooper Spur and Mountain Shadow areas were given warning they might have to evacuate, she said. About 35 people were considered threatened, she said.

Officials said the rain however, wouldn't extinguish the entire threat, as dense underbrush could continue to smolder and a fire closure remained in effect.

More: Thunder and lightning rage across Ore., SW Wash.

meanwhile, a wildfire that "blew up on 'em" threatened a Central Oregon town on Monday, as firefighters across the state dealt with the aftermath of a night of lightning strikes.

Three wildfires touched off by lightning in the Ochoco National Forest merged into one large blaze covering about 3,000 acres by the latest estimate from federal dispatchers.

The Bridge Creek Fire, which started on Aug. 7, was fanned into a fury Saturday by high winds and 100-plus degree temperatures, Mills said."The unstable air hit, and it blew up on 'em," she said.

The Bridge Creek fire was two miles south of Mitchell, a town of fewer than 200 people in Wheeler County. It threatened up to 220 structures and homes, fire officials said.

Lightning strikes pounded the state from south to north Sunday night and Monday morning. Mills said the strikes were concentrated in the Cascade Range and Western Oregon and numbered 5,436.

With high winds Monday, she said, "We expect to get quite a few more fires out of this."

Paul Tolleson, a forecaster for the National Weather Service in Portland, said rainfall is expected over much of Oregon from a storm bearing tropical moisture expected Tuesday and Wednesday.

"We use a value which we call precipitable water to measure the moisture in these storms and we're seeing very high values, higher than even we see during the winter," Tolleson said. "That's because the air mass is very warm and warm air can hold more moisture than cold air.

"This could put a real damper on Oregon's fire season," he said.