Fire season was officially declared by the Oregon Department of Forestry’s The Dalles Unit last week, and local officials are bracing for a potentially difficult summer. ODF’s Kiel Nairns says available resources for fighting fires should be about what they have been the last few years. Narins says there is a concern about the early hot temperatures combined with strengthening west winds. He adds the potential already exists in the Gorge for a large fire, and very soon ODF will declare a regulated use closure, which will restrict many activities on lands that agency protects.