Swamp Wells Trail Fire SE of Bend 30% contained; minimal fire activity seen amid mop-up

(Update: Tuesday morning update)

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- The Swamp Wells Trail Fire on the Deschutes National Forest nine miles south of Bend is now 30% contained and remains at 64 acres, amid mop-up work and minimal fire activity, officials said Tuesday.

"Firefighters were able to make good progress cooling hot spots near the perimeter to increase containment," the update stated.

The Central Oregon Fire Management Service (COFMS) Type 3 Incident Management Team under the command of Jeff Priest is still in command of the fire.

The National Weather Service has issued a Red Flag Warning for gusty winds and low relative humidity for parts of the Deschutes National Forest, Ochoco National Forest and Prineville District BLM. Learn more at: https://www.weather.gov/pdt/

The Swamp Wells Trail Fire was reported at 5:13 p.m. Sunday a mile south of Boyd Cave, off China Hat Road, and engines were immediately dispatched to the fire, the cause of which remains under investigation.

For up-to-date information on Central Oregon fires, visit www.centraloregonfire.org or www.twitter.com/CentralORFire.

The work to fully douse the blaze will continue for a bit - and the scare it gave many area residents won't fade quickly, either.

It sent up a plume of smoke visible for several miles. It also sparked many calls to emergency dispatchers from worried Southeast Bend residents.

One of them was Kimberly Teichrow, who lives just about seven miles from the edge of the fire and first read about it online.

"And of course, ears perk up any time it says southeast Bend,” she told NewsChannel 21 from home on Monday. “And then people in the comments said, 'There's a fire out China Hat Road.' And of course, China Hat Road is right there."

She saw something no one wants to see: a plume of smoke, just a few miles from her home.

"We immediately got into our car and took a little drive and kind of figured out where it was,” she said. “We got a view, got some pictures of it."

Teichrow was relieved when she realized it was farther down China Hat Road from where she lives, near the intersection with Knott Road just south of Bend.

There was plenty of activity around the fire as crews rushed to contain it.

Kassidy Kern, public information officer for the Central Oregon Fire Management Service said, "Any time you have a fire that is close to community, it increases the complexity of that incident."

That's why two air tankers came to the scene.

"Well, it gets your attention,” Teichrow said. “And I will say, for the record, this has been a really good experience for us, a valuable experience, because we know we live in fire land."

In fact, she took this year to improve the defensible space around her home, to better protect it in case fire gets close.

"We trim up a lot of the bigger of the bigger pine trees,” Teichrow said. “In fact, this one is due for a couple more, to get some of the bottom limbs that have died."

And she's also got a trailer ready, if it becomes time to go.

"The plan is, toss the important stuff in. Toss the dogs in," she said.

And get out of there.

Fortunately, this fire didn't require that. but it was a reminder to her that it could be one day -- you never know when.

The cause of the fire is still being investigated.

Kern also said despite numerous fire restrictions, C.O.F.M.S. is still seeing many open campfires which can cause fires like this one.