The Bachelor Complex of fires, primarily the Little Lava Fire, grew some over the weekend, totaling 12,536 acres, but containment also grew to 68% by the 70 personnel on the lines, despite the recent warm and windy conditions at times.
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BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) – All of the containment and control lines on the Little Lava Fire held in Friday’s strong winds and the Bachelor Complex is now nearly two-thirds contained, Deschutes National Forest officials said Saturday. The 12,120-acre group of fires sparked by lightning nearly a month ago has burned 12,120 acres and is 63%
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PORTLAND, Ore. (KTVZ) — The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality issued an air quality advisory Wednesday for Deschutes County due to smoke from wildfires in the region. The La Pine area saw air quality plunge to the very unhealthy levels Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, improving later in the day, as did some Bend-area readings
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SISTERS, Ore. (KTVZ) — A recent small fire at a homeless camp in Sisters was stopped with a fire extinguisher given free to a camper by the Sisters-Camp Sherman Fire District. “In the spring of this year, we had an interview for a fire chief for a fire district,” Steven Lord, fire risk EMT in community
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A small brush fire was reported last week at a dispersed campsite on the Deschutes National Forest in Sisters by a neighboring camper who used two extinguishers provided by the Sisters-Camp Sherman Fire District to slow its spread before fire crews arrived.
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The McKenzie Pass Highway (Oregon Highway 240) west of Sisters reopened over the weekend, three weeks after wildfires in the area prompted its closure. It’s another sign of firefighters’ continued progress on the area’s blazes, despite warm weather lingering into the fall and other challenges.
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BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) – The Bachelor Complex, including the Little Lava Fire, held at 50% containment this weekend, with no change in acreage reported, while the Red Fire near Crescent Lake has grown to over 2,000 acres but still 11% contained officials said Sunday. The complex consists of about 30 fires sparked by lightning Sept.
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BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) – Central Oregon has seen about 325 wildfires this year that have burned over 550,000 acres, the region’s fire officials said Saturday – and fire season isn’t over, as two fires, each stopped at about two acres near Tumalo and Madras, made clear. Saturday’s first blaze was a brush fire reported around
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BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — Effective immediately, the Deschutes National Forest has updated and decreased the temporary emergency fire closure area on the Bend-Fort Rock Ranger District for the Flat Top and Firestone Fires due to increased containment and decreased fire activity. The Flat Top Fire is currently 45,951 acres and 91% contained. The Firestone Fire
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Update: Emergency closure area reduced) BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — Crews were pulled off the Little Lava Fire on Wednesday before a windy cold front moved through, bringing safety risks, more smoke and 40 mph wind gusts that downed trees, but little growth was seen, officials said Thursday. With containment at 50%, Forest Service Road 40
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BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — Although containment is close to 40% on the 2-week-old Bachelor Complex, including the Little Lava Fire, officials said Monday that a warmup in coming days is likely to mean a pickup in fire activity and the smoke seen coming from the blaze. Central Oregon Interagency Type 3 IMT Bob Sjolund –
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BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — Two weeks after a rash of lightning-sparked wildfires around the region, there were new signs of progress Sunday, as the three largest remaining blazes on the Deschutes National Forest are returning to local management. Officials said command of the Bachelor Complex would transition at 6 p.m. Sunday from the Northwest Complex
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BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — Central Oregon firefighters saw more progress Friday in containing the remaining large wildfires in the region, despite some warmer and windier conditions that burned more fuel within the fire perimeters, officials said Saturday. Another sign of progress came Friday at 6 p.m., when Highway 126 west of Sisters and south of
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Jefferson County sheriff’s deputies have arrested a Wasco County fugitive on a warrant for failing to appear in court on an arson charge, accused of starting the Larch Creek Fire that burned more than 18,000 acres in July. He later was released after posting bail.
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BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — Nearly two weeks after lightning sparked a rash of fires in the Cascades and points east, the more than 450 firefighters battling the Bachelor Complex southwest of Bend, including the Little Lava Fire, has reached 37% containment, while the Firestone and Flat Top fires are now 87% contained, officials said Friday.
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PRINEVILLE, Ore. (KTVZ) — After close consultation with fire management officials, the Ochoco National Forest said Wednesday it has reduced the Paulina Complex Fire Area Closure, due to significant progress in containment and improving safety conditions. The reduction comes after thorough assessments of fire behavior, successful containment efforts, and careful consideration of public safety, officials
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(Update: Wednesday’s fire update, containment at 84%) PRINEVILLE, Ore. (KTVZ) — Following significant progress in firefighting efforts, the Ochoco National Forest, in consultation with fire management officials and the Crook County Sheriff’s Office, said Tuesday it has reduced the Wiley Flat Fire Area Closure in the Maury Mountains. “This decision comes as containment lines have
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BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — No evacuation notices remain in place, but area closures are still in effect as hundreds of firefighters continue mop-up work, bulldozer lines are built and burnout work planned to ensure the Little Lava and other fires don’t spread. It’s a similar situation on the Firestone and Flat Top fires to the
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La PINE, Ore. (KTVZ) — This summer, the Darlene 3 and Jackpine fires near La Pine shone a spotlight on the negative effects of long-term overstays and illegal dumping on public lands. In response, community members approached the Bureau of Land Management with a request: Could they organize a group cleanup? The newly formed Newberry Regional
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With the continued recent success of fire operations and improved conditions, and at the advice of fire managers, the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office on Tuesday dropped all evacuation notices on the Little Lava/Bachelor Complex, Flat Top and Firestone fires.
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