Amid more progress, DCSO drops all evacuation notices around Little Lava/Bachelor Complex, Flat Top and Firestone fires

Emergency forest closures remain in place

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- 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.

The Bachelor Complex area's return to normal status was taken in coordination with the Sunriver Police Department, and the Flat Top/Firestone changes in coordination with the Lake County Sheriff's Office, said sheriff's Sgt. Nathan Garibay, Deschutes County's emergency manager.

Even though evacuation levels are dropped, there will be continued hazards near the fires and fire operations. The Deschutes National Forest has implemented an emergency forest closure around these fires.

For more information, go to: https://www.fs.usda.gov/main/deschutes/home

For the latest incident information, go to: http://deschutes.org/emergency 

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Northwest 3 Complex Incident Management Team   
Lonnie Click ~ Incident Commander  
September 17, 2024

Bachelor Complex, Flat Top and Firestone Fires Update

Quick Facts: Bachelor Complex
Size: 10,963 acres                  
Start Date: Sept 8, 2024                 
Location: 20 miles SW of Bend, OR
Personnel: 623

Quick Facts: Firestone & Flat Top Fires
Firestone Size: 10,935 acres   
Start Date: Sept 6, 2024                 
Location: North of Fort Rock, OR
Flat Top Size: 35,453 acres     
Personnel: 294  

Yesterday, firefighters took advantage of favorable weather conditions and moderated fire behavior on the Bachelor Complex, Flat Top and Firestone Fires. On the Little Lava Fire, firefighters constructed fireline along the western, southern and northern flanks of the fire, conducted successful burnout operations along the southern perimeter to further secure control lines and continued mop-up operations. On the Firestone Fire, mop-up continued on the western and eastern flanks of the fire and direct handline was constructed south of Forest Service Road (FSR) 650. Mop-up operations and hazard tree felling continued on the Flat Top Fire. 

Bachelor Complex:  Mop-up operations are complete on the Backside and 911 incidents and both fires will continue to be monitored by air. The Lucky Butte Fire is also being monitored by unmanned aerial systems (UAS). Mop-up operations, hazard tree removal and suppression repair work will continue along the western and southern perimeters of the Little Lava Fire. Hand and dozer line construction is ongoing along the northern flank working west from FSR 45. Firefighters are also constructing indirect fireline along a portion of the southern edge where terrain is too rough for heavy equipment or firefighters to construct direct control lines along the fire’s edge. Crews plan to conduct strategic burning operations along this section of indirect line when weather conditions are favorable to secure the line by removing fuel ahead of the fire. 

Flat Top Fire:  Today, firefighters will continue to mop up and secure the perimeter to ensure that fire remains within the established control lines. Crews will continue to monitor for heat within the fire perimeter and extinguish any hot spots as needed. Resources are also removing hazard trees along road systems and near the fire’s edge and starting to repair suppression activities around the perimeter. 

Firestone Fire: Today, firefighters will continue mop-up operations moving 50-100 feet into the interior of the fire perimeter to strengthen the control lines. Resources are identifying and removing hazard trees along control lines and road systems. Crews are also extinguishing sources of heat directly along the fire perimeter where possible and are constructing indirect control lines in areas with lava flows, pumice soils and other challenging terrain features along the north flank.                                                  

Weather and Fire Behavior: Today, fire behavior is expected to be more active than yesterday due to lower relative humidity levels. Winds will be out of the west, northwest gusting up to 20 mph on the Flat Top and Firestone incidents and 20-25 mph over the Bachelor Complex. There is a 5% chance of rain overnight. 

Evacuations: Emergency management and fire officials are reevaluating evacuation levels daily. Level 3 evacuations mean “Go Now,” Level 2 means “Be Set” and Level 1 means "Be Ready.” To view current evacuation levels, please visit the Deschutes County Emergency Information Interactive Map at: http://www.deschutes.org/emergency. For Lake County evacuation information, please visit: https://www.lakecountyor.org/flat_top.php.

Closures: There are two emergency closure areas on the Deschutes National Forest for these fires. View the updated closure orders and maps on the Deschutes National Forest site at: https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/deschutes/alerts-notices. 

Facebook:      https://www.facebook.com/deschutesnationalforest/

InciWeb:       
https://inciweb.wildfire.gov/incident-information/ordef-bachelor-complex-fires 
https://inciweb.wildfire.gov/incident-information/ordef-flat-top-and-firestone-fires 

YouTube:        https://www.youtube.com/@CentralOregonFireInfo?app=desktop

Fire Information Line: (541) 249-9829, 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Smoke & Air Quality Information: fire.airnow.gov