‘This fire grew very quickly’: Darlene 3 Fire held at just under 4,000 acres, 50% contained
LA PINE, Ore. (KTVZ) -- It's been four days since hundreds of La Pine area residents evacuated their homes. The Darlene 3 Fire has been held by crews at just under 4,000 acres, and 50 percent contained, as of Saturday.
"This fire grew very quickly," Stacy Long, a U.S. Forest Service wildfire prevention, mitigation and education specialist, said Saturday. "It was all because the temperatures were high that day. The wind was very strong out of the west that day."
The start of the Darlene 3 Fire brought frightening skies filled with billowing smoke, while firefighters on the ground took on the flames and planes and helicopters flew over to dump retardant and water on the fire.
La Pine resident Donald Lloyd Allen Cantrell recalled, "I grabbed my little girl here (his dog), Trinket, and she's my life. I was so turned around, I just grabbed a few things, and I was gone."
The fire caused residents to seek shelter at La Pine High School, where the American Red Cross is still staffing the evacuation shelter.
Disaster Program Manager Graham Bellairs said Saturday, "When you're displaced from your home, it is an extremely difficult time. And it's not necessarily high living, but it is shelter and food, and that's what counts."
As of Saturday morning, the number of personnel on the ground was still more than 400. It was also the last day for the Oregon State Fire Marshal's Red Team on the incident, as they demobilized and headed home, with Central Oregon's Type 3 Incident Management Team taking over.
The number of homes at Level 2, meaning is "Be Set" to evacuate at a moment's notice, were more than 1,000. More than 40 were still at Level 3, which is "GO NOW."
Another La Pine resident, Chantel Helwig, said, "It was pretty mellow, considering how scary it was. And it was kind of frustrating, too, because as soon as the evacuations (levels) would drop lower, they would shoot back up."
The cause of the fire, which started on BLM land and is deemed human-caused, is still under investigation. As residents return to their homes, fire managers would like to remind everyone to maintain defensible space around your home.
