Wildfire north of La Pine lined after destroying home

(Update: Fire fully lined, road reopened; Level 3 evacuation lowered to Level 1)

An early-season wildfire broke out Wednesday afternoon north of La Pine, prompting evacuations in the Lazy River subdivision, where authorities said one home burned, another was damaged and others were threatened until crews stopped the fire’s forward progress.

Fire and emergency crews responded around 3 p.m. to the Bridge Drive Fire, reported by several callers on private land in the 53000 block of Bridge Drive, near Prairie View and Sepentine drives, officials said.

Deschutes County sheriff’s Sgt. William Bailey said crews were on the scene, with road closures in place, and asked that people stay out of the area if at all possible.

“A Level 3 (Go Now!) Evacuation Notice due to a fire has been ordered for all residences on Loop Drive, Walker Road, Forest Road, Faun Court, and Prairie View Drive in the Lazy River Subdivision north of Burgess Road,” an alert issued at 3:39 p.m. said.

“There is immediate and imminent danger and you should evacuate immediately. Leave immediately and as quickly as possible,” the alert stated.

The fire initially was estimated at about 3 acres, had grown to about 8 acres an hour later and was eventually mapped at nearly 12 acres, according to Oregon Department of Forestry public information officer Christie Shaw.

Some groups of trees were torching, Shaw said, as well as some flames or embers spotting from the main fire amid 20 mph wind gusts in the La Pine area. Two regional structural protection task forces were called up, she said.

Numerous Forest Service, ODF and La Pine Rural Fire District crews were called to the blaze, with unified command established between ODF and the La Pine fire agency. Resources included engines, hand crews and the Redmond Hot Shots, Shaw said.

The fire was fully lined by 5:40 p.m., she said. A Level 3 (Go Now!) evacuation order was lowered to Level 1 (Be Ready) at 7:30 p.m., meaning to be ready for potential evacuation, Bailey said.

Bridge Drive also was reopened at Otter Drive, but the sergeant asked people to limit travel in the area and use caution due to fire and emergency vehicle traffic.

No human injuries were reported, he said.

An American Red Cross emergency shelter was established at the La Pine Community Center for those affected by the evacuations, Bailey said.

The sheriff’s office said in a tweet around 5 p.m. Bridge Drive remained closed at Otter Road. He said local residents off Bridge Drive not affected by the evacuation should check in at the road closure for access on Bridge Drive south of the closure.

Shortly after 5 p.m., Shaw said, “Resources are continuing to work to strengthen the lines, but they were able to hook the head between two roads.”

The cause of the fire, which burned on private land, is under investigation, but officials said it’s not related to any of the recent prescribed burns around the area.

ODF will be bringing in an investigator to look for the cause of the fire, Shaw added.