Weather impacts on the Redmond-area wildfire

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- On Tuesday afternoon, the area between Redmond and Terrebonne was the center of attention for wildfire suppression as a quickly developing wildfire came to life.

The fire quickly grew from one acre at around 4:45 to an estimated 20 acres by 5:30. The fuel was mainly grass and some small trees and with the brisk north winds the fire pushed south.

The progression of the fire appeared to be halted as fire crews quickly established a southern perimeter. Two helicopters along with fixed wing aerial attacks kept the fire from pushing into more populated regions just to the south.

Close to 7 pm the activity of the blaze seemed to slow significantly and drop buckets from helicopters turned their attention to hotspots inside the perimeter. The choppers used an large body of water just to the northwest of the fire to grab the water while the jets dropped fire retardant.

At the advent of this fire, winds helped fan the flames and allowed the line of flames to march to the south as the winds came in from the north. The wind relaxed as the night moved along and although the fire is not progressing at this time, there are still some hot spots inside the perimeter that will be tended to through the night and into Wednesday.

Excellent work by the firefighters, both local and regional!