Crews make progress on Central Oregon fires

A 2-acre fire northeast of La Pine on Tuesday grew to about 50 acres by evening, closed one forest service road and prompted a notice of possible evacuation for nearby campgrounds.

The Paulina Fire on Deschutes National Forest land closed Forest Road 9735, said spokeswoman Kassidy Kern. The firefighting response included two single-engine air tankers to drop retardant, one helicopter to drop water, two bulldozers and hand crews. The Ogden and McKay Crossing campgrounds were on notice to be ready for possible evacuation.

Meanwhile, fire officials expected to open Fryrear Road on Tuesday evening after containing a fire between Tumalo and Sisters at about 80 percent.

The blaze had reached a little more than 8 acres Monday night. Fire officials originally reported its size at 20 acres, but Kern said that it only reached about 8.4 acres. Kern said incident commanders give early, rough estimates based on seeing the fire from the ground and gauging the topography and types of vegetation involved, such as grass that can burn quickly.

Some residents of Cascade Estates had evacuated Monday, but evacuation notices were lifted Monday night. Fryrear Road connects highways 126 and 20 and remained closed through most of Tuesday.

Farther southwest at Crater Lake National Park, the Bybee Creek Fire remained at about 720 acres and 10 percent contained on Tuesday evening.

A Level 1 evacuation notice went into effect for that fire on Tuesday. It applies to Rim Village and the park headquarters. The notice is meant to tell people in those areas to be ready for possible evacuation of those sites and to monitor information about the fire.

That fire started Thursday and crews were dropping retardant on it and trying to keep it east of the Pacific Crest Trail, south of Lightning Springs Trail and west of Crater Lake Rim Drive. The road from Discovery Point to North Junction was closed. The Pacific Crest Trail remained closed from Dutton Creek Camp north to the trail’s parking lot on North Entrance Road. Lightning Springs Trail and backcountry camp also closed, and an alternate hiking route, Dutton Creek Trail to Rim Trail, may see periodic closures. The park remained open.

Farther north, crews have fully contained the Rifle Range Fire near Lake Billy Chinook that started Saturday and burned 21 acres of private land and Crooked River National Grassland. That human-caused fire caused no evacuations, injuries or road closures.

In Northeast Oregon, the Weigh Station Fire between Pendleton and Meacham burned about 688 acres and was about 35 percent contained by Tuesday evening. It started Saturday and had caused closures along Interstate 84.

In Eastern Oregon, the Rail Fire outside of Unity burned about 2,000 acres. It started Sunday and its cause remained under investigation.

— Reporter: 541-617-7812,

hcorrigan@bendbulletin.com