‘A great success by firefighters’: Darlene Fire near La Pine fully lined at nearly 600 acres
(Update: Fire lined, mapped at 588 acres)
But heat, winds will continue to challenge crews
La PINE, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Firefighters were successful Tuesday night in completing a line around the nearly 600-acre Darlene Fire southeast of La Pine, using bulldozer lines and existing road system, officials said in Wednesday morning's update.
“A great success by firefighters once again!” La Pine Rural Fire Protection Fire Chief Mike Supkis said.
Supkis also reported that due to the wildland firefighters’ quick actions, he is happy to report that there were no structures lost within the boundaries of the La Pine Rural Fire Protection District.
The 588-acre fire, based on mapping, will continue to challenge firefighters Wednesday, with a red flag warning of high winds and low relative humidity forecasted for the fire area from noon Tuesday through 11 p.m. Wednesday.
Structure protection and the safety of residents in the area is a priority for firefighters and all participating agencies, including all participating rural fire protection districts, as fire weather and fuels are still a concern.
Firefighters Wednesday will be scouting for spot fires and strengthening the lines in preparation for the afternoon red flag weather moving in. Air resources will continue to used, if needed, as well as dozers, engines, hand crews and water tenders.
A Type 2 team will in-brief Wednesday evening and will take over managing the fire beginning of shift on Thursday.
Continue to monitor the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Department website for current evacuation information: https://bit.ly/3eeTRx1.
The fire, labeled the Darlene Fire, was reported around 1:30 p.m. Tuesday on BLM land about 2 miles southeast of the city off Darlene Way, fire information officer Jean Nelson-Dean said. By 2:30 p.m., it was estimated at 10 acres, then 40 acres by 3 p.m. and 100 acres an hour later. A new estimate of 500 acres came before 5 p.m. and 600 acres before 7 p.m.
"Right now, it's growing rapidly, but we do have a lot of initial attack resources responding, and an air tanker," Nelson-Dean said in the early afternoon, later confirming that evacuations were underway in the area.
Area residents saw yet another tall, dark smoke plume emerge, the latest in a string of wildfires in the area amid hot, dry conditions.
The Deschutes County Sheriff's Office reported the fire was in the area between Finley Butte Road and state Highway 31, and asked people to "please avoid the area."
Some residents took action, like Dan Cram, who picked his mother up from her assisted living facility.
"So my mom lives in assisted living here in La Pine, and we got precautionary notice just to pick them up, in case they got evacuated," Cram said.
And with above-average heat and a drought across the High Desert, Cram says there's always a reason to worry.
"Just keeps getting worse and worse," Cram said. We've had three or four fires here in the last month, Kind of getting scary."
Despite a very active fire, crews did achieve some key goals by Tuesday evening, keeping the blaze east of Darlene Way, west of major power lines and north of Highway 31, Nelson-Dean said.
The sheriff's office said La Pine Middle School was set up as a temporary evacuation point, while the La Pine rodeo grounds was open to accept animals that need a place to stay.
NewsChannel 21 spoke with Lions Club International's Gary Mose, who was at the evacuation point to provide evacuees with needs such as water, food and blankets.
"Our goal here is to find out what the needs are, and then we can supply," Mose said. "We have 500 air mattresses available, we have 200 blankets available, and we have water."
Mose says they also have a concession trailer to help feed evacuees across the region.
A Deschutes County map shows the Level 3 GO NOW evacuation zone for the Darlene Fire and a Level 2 (Get Set) for a large area south of the Klamath County line, including Sun Forest Estates, the Split Rail subdivision and Antelope It also shows the updated evacuation areas and levels for the Grandview fire to the north: https://deschutes.maps.arcgis.com/apps/PublicInformation/index.html?appid=f9de45337eb043fca432548f91d03ad6
Meanwhile, northwest of Madras, Jefferson County Fire District No. 1 and sheriff's deputies responded to a small brush fire on NW Elm Lane Tuesday afternoon.
"With the brave help from local Jefferson County farmers, all structures were saved," the sheriff's office said in a Facebook post. The fire damaged some gated pipe and older farm equipment.
Fire District Deputy Chief Casey Skaar said the fire, contained to 20 acres, had grown very quickly in grass, sagebrush and juniper.
"Please be aware of the very dry conditions and make sure you have plenty of defensible space around your houses and outbuildings," the post said. "These farmers did, and it saved their house."
