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Fire by North Twin Lake stopped at 11 acres, now fully contained; evacuated campground to stay closed this week

North Twin Lake fire Steven Bucholz 7--13
Steven Bucholtz
Steven Bucholtz was at North Twin Lake Campground with family when they spotted smoke rising and flames moving up nearby trees, left the area.
North Twin Fire start Lindsey Winchester 7-13
Lindsey Winchester
Lindsey Winchster said, 'We were on the west shore, saw the smoke as we were paddling back to head home. Timestamp of this photo (L) is 4:53 pm': 'This (R) was at 5:03, just as the trees started to really go up in flames.'
North Twin Fire Watch Duty 7-13
Watch Duty/anonymous user
Smoke billows from new fire by North Twin Lake on Saturday.

(Update: Fire 100% contained; campground to remain closed for fire crews' work)

La PINE, Ore. (KTVZ) ā€“ A wildfire reported late Saturday afternoon near North Twin Lake, prompting the campgroundā€™s evacuation, has been fully contained at 11 acres, but the campground will stay closed at least until Friday for more firefighting work, officials said Monday.

Fire officials said the campground remained closed Monday while firefighters continued work to repair lines on the North Twin Fire. The Deschutes National Forest said the campground remains closed for fire suppression activities related to the blaze.

The fire broke out amid more hot, windy conditions and quickly grew to an estimated 10 acres before forward progress was stopped.

The North Twin Fire was reported around 4:45 p.m. Saturday and initially estimated at three acres, growing to 10 acres by 6:30 p.m., according to Central Oregon fire officials. They saidForest Service law enforcement and Deschutes County sheriffā€™s deputies had evacuated the campground.

ā€œPlease stay out of the area,ā€ an initial alert advised.

Fire officials said helicopters used North Twin Lake as a dip site to pour water on the blaze, assisting firefighters on the ground.

Around 9:30 p.m., Central Oregon fire officials reported that forward progress of the fire was stopped at 11 acres. They said crews, engines and a bulldozer would remain on scene, building containment lines through the night.

North Twin Campground remained closed, along with Forest Service Road 4263; FS Road 4260 reopened.

Steven Bucholtz, at the lake with family and friends, didnā€™t wait for officials to evacuate, as they spotted the fire early on.

ā€œWe left as soon as we saw flames heading up the trees,ā€ Bucholtz said.

He said he was getting out of the water and taking a picture of a friendā€™s baby ā€œand didnā€™t notice the smoke behind the babyā€ until he looked at the photo.

Bucholtz said the wind was kicking up. ā€œThe kids were trying to kayak, and the wind was blowing them back to shore,ā€ he said.

Redmond Airport reported a 103-degree high on Saturday, breaking the old July 13th record of 102 degrees, set in 2002. Winds at 6 p.m. at Redmond Airport were 16 mph out of the northwest, gusting to 22 mph.

Article Topic Follows: Fire Alert

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Barney Lerten

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