(Update: Revising size, adding video, comments from fire PIO and residents; Long Bend Fire 90% contained)
La PINE, Ore. (KTVZ) – The Darlene 3 Fire that broke out Tuesday afternoon southeast of La Pine and prompted a major air and ground attack, hundreds of evacuations and a Conflagration Act call-up of task forces from around the state grew to more 2,400 acres by Wednesday and more strong winds, but crews held it to 30% containment.
"The predicted westerly winds have pushed the fire east toward Finley Butte," an evening update said. "Air and ground resources are engaged and heavy equipment continue to arrive to aid in the efforts."
The cause of the blaze that put up tall, surging plumes of smoke for hours Tuesday “is actively being investigated,” officials said in a Wednesday morning update.
Firefighters worked through the night to establish control lines around the fire perimeter.
"Winds and warm temperatures this afternoon are expected and will test established lines," the early Wednesday afternoon update stated. "Today’s focus will be to keep the fire within its current footprint and strengthening the lines with dozers, hand crews and engines. Air resources will continue to engage with the fire as needed."
"Fire investigators are actively investigating this fire," officials said. "As we move into the dry summer months here in Central Oregon, it is imperative for our community and visitors to be vigilant about fire safety. Please be aware of and check with local land management agencies for current fire restrictions as we move into a high fire danger level across Central Oregon."
The Central Oregon Type 3 team with Incident Commander Vince Grace took command of the Darlene 3 Fire Wednesday morning, in unified command with Oregon State Fire Marshal Red Team, Incident Commander Ian Yocum.
Structure and wildland resources continue to arrive at the Incident Command Post in La Pine to support the fire. Six task forces of structural firefighters will be actively working to prep and protect structures. These include the eastside of the City of La Pine, Newberry Estates, as well as nearby water and power infrastructure.
Darlene 3 Fire Public Information Officer Stacey Long said Wednesday, "Task force OSFMhave been out with our communities and in the areas where the homes are, making sure that they're protected as needed."
On Wednesday morning, the Deschutes County Sheriff's Office issued a Level 1 BE READY evacuation notice for the area west of Highway 97 north of Burgess Road, east of the Little Deschutes River and south of Riverview Drive.
Also, Forest Service land on the eastern side of the fire that was previously at LEVEL 2 BE SET was upgraded to LEVEL 3 GO NOW. The area on the north side of Paulina Lake Highway remained at LEVEL 2 BE SET.
"We'll continue to order resources as needed," Long told NewsChannel 21. "We have our great team out there right now, our operations folks are out there seeing if they have what we need to keep it in its footprint today."
The fire was reported around 1 p.m. Tuesday near Darlene Way on the southeast outskirts of La Pine and quickly put up huge, billowing smoke plumes as it raced across 1,700 acres by nightfall, prompting a rapidly changing mix of, Level 3 GO NOW evacuations and Level 2 BE SET alerts, public land closures and a power shutoff in the area.
NewsChannel 21 obtained what a neighbor said isfootage of a homeless camp on fire in the area Tuesday around the time the fire was reported.
Central Oregon fire dispatch first reported around 1:15 p.m. that Incident 289 was burning a mile southeast of La Pine, on the east side of Darlene Way near Finley Butte Road. The fire was initially estimated at 3-5 acres and officials said four engines, a bulldozer, a crew and several air resources were responding. The cause was under investigation.
By 2:15 p.m., the fire was estimated at 15 acres and spreading to the northeast, with more air and ground resources ordered in. Before 3 p.m. came word the newly named Darlene 3 Fire had grown to about 50 acres as the air and ground battle was fully underway
Three local task forces made up of firefighters from numerous agencies rushed to help tackle the blaze as new spot fires were reported and an unconfirmed scanner report the blaze had jumped to the north side Finley Butte Road around 2:10 p.m. The later focus was on stopping the fire as it moved toward Reed Road.
Shortly before 2 p.m. Tuesday, Deschutes Alert sent out a wildfire evacuation notice – ‘Level 3 – GO NOW!’ The area covered by the evacuation notice is east of the railroad tracks, near Darlene Way and Ice Cave Road. Around 2:30 p.m. emergency managers added a Level 2 "GET SET" evacuation notice for areas east of Highway 97 and south of Rosland Pit.
The sheriff's office urged that people continue to visitdeschutes.org/emergencyfor the most up-to-date evacuation levels.
The DCSO said Tuesday night the American Red Cross is staffing the evacuation shelter at La Pine High School (51633 Coach Rd.) with additional support from the Deschutes County Medical Reserve Corps.
The La Pine Activity Center (16450 Victory Way) is open for RVs to park and has space for animals.
The La Pine Rodeo Grounds is accepting livestock and companion animals in coordination with the Pet Evacuation Team.
Bend Pet Resort (60909 SE 27th St., Bend), is accepting cats and dogs and can be reached by calling 458-666-7505.
Jodi Kerr was packing up her home decor and gifts store in La Pine so she could evacuate, The Associated Press reported.
“It’s part of the risk of living in an area like this. It’s beautiful, but it’s wild,” said Kerr, the owner of Meandering Maker Mercantile.
She said it’s hard to think about the people who’ve spent years building businesses and then be concerned about losing it all overnight.
The Forest Service said McKay Crossing Campground, Prairie Campground, Ogden Group Camp and the Rosland OHV play area and associated trails on the Deschutes National Forest were evacuated and closed. Six Mile Sno-Park also was closed Wednesday due to the fire.
Midstate Electric Cooperative told Newberry Estates residents around 3:20 p.m. Tuesday it was "highly probable" they would have to enact a Public Safety Power Shutoff in the area. Twenty minutes earlier, they posted that the fire was moving in the direction of the area's Bonneville Power Administration substation.
At 5:30 p.m., the cooperative said power was out "in various areas of our service territory" - their outage map for a time showed just over 2,000 members without power.
Midstate Communications Manager Sina Streeter said Wednesday morning there were still "a few services in the Finley Butte area" that were out.
"We are waiting for access to the burn area to complete assessments of affected equipment," she said, adding that "all critical infrastructure is operational at this time."
Midstate had this message for members Wednesday evening on their Facebook page:
"Due to the ongoing Darlene Fire activity and adverse weather conditions, we have placed our distribution system on our most sensitive settings. If a power outage occurs while the system is in wildfire mitigation settings, all of the affected lines are required to be inspected before power can be restored, resulting in longer restoration times. The safety of the public and our membership is a top priority. With evacuation notices in place, please take the necessary precautions to keep you and your family safe. We’ll keep you updated as the situation evolves."
The Prineville District Bureau of Land Management also issued an Emergency Public Land Closure on Tuesday. The closure included all BLM-administered lands within an area bounded by Forest Service Road 180 on the south, Highway 97 on the west, Paulina Lake Road on the north, and the Deschutes National Forest Boundary on the east.
"This closure is effective immediately and will remain in effect until such a time as conditions allow for safe use of the public lands."
The fire's name - Darlene 3 - points to a history of wildfires in the area. In mid-July of 2021, the Darlene Fire burned nearly 700 acres before it was contained and destroyed two homes.
Meanwhile, the 1,024-acre Long Bend Fire that broke out Saturday along the west side of the Deschutes River southwest of Maupin has reached 90% containment, officials said late Wednesday.
The cause remains under investigation. The fire will transition down from a Type 3 Incident Management Team to a Type 4 Incident Commander tomorrow morning.
