10 months ago, the Cedar Creek Fire began near Oakridge, burning more than 127,000 acres and impacting the air quality in surrounding areas.

Originally ignited by a lightning storm, the Cedar Creek Fire was one of thirty similar fires that popped up in the same region.

So what made the Cedar Creek Fire such a difficult fire to manage?

According to members of the U.S. Forest Service, the fire was difficult for a variety of reasons, but the most daunting factors had to do with its location. The fire itself started in an area that was not only difficult to access by Forest Service roads, but had such steep terrain that aerial crews were wary of trying to descend into the surrounding forest.

"Once you have a fire that's in a really difficult location to access, that limits your ability to get resources in timely," Jimmer Hunt, the fire management officer for the Middle Fork Ranger District. "It also limits your ability to construct and maintain firelines."

The fire started in an area with a lot of old forest growth, which provided a significant amount of highly flammable material. Despite these early difficulties, crews were able to put decent fire lines in place at first.

What caused the fire to explode out of control?

"We ended up having, essentially, a week long east wind event, or cold front, that hit the fire that really expanded the growth of the fire from around 10,000 acres to its final footprint around the 120,000 mark," Hunt said.

The week long weather pattern prevented crews from being able to properly box in the smaller fire, and would dictate the future response of the fire until an end of season rain helped douse the fire as it approached the three month mark.

This precipitation, followed by a heavy snowfall helped put the blaze to rest, but the remnants of the blaze will last for a while. Driving through the forest along Forest Service 2409, you can see one side still being lush and green, and the other dead, dry, and blackened by fire.

With this year's fire season right around the corner, and smaller wildfires like Veneta's 7K fire popping up just this past weekend, fire officials around the state, and around the country shift their focus to preparations for this year.

A multitude of tools and tactics are being employed, with prescribed burns being the primary method these groups are employing.