While Bend had plenty of smoke in the air on Monday morning, it was largely coming from fires outside the region.

Lisa Clark, spokeswoman for the Central Oregon Interagency Dispatch Center, said much of the smoke in the air in Bend was coming from large fires in southwest Oregon and northern California, rather than smaller fires closer to town.

Bend’s air quality remained relatively good overnight and into the early morning, but began to decline at about 9 a.m., according to the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality.

Mark Bailey, air quality manager for DEQ’s eastern region, said a shift in prevailing winds guided smoke from other parts of the state to Central Oregon, causing smoke levels to jump midmorning.

“The smoke was combining from all those fires and heading our way,” Bailey said.

Air quality in Bend reached its nadir at about 11 a.m., with smoke levels that are considered unhealthy for sensitive groups, including people with respiratory issues, young children and pregnant women, according to Bailey. He added that smoke levels slowly returned to normal throughout the afternoon.

While a handful of fires have sparked near Bend in the last few days, most have remained relatively small. The Bessie Butte Fire ignited on Sunday about 8 miles south of Bend, and had burned about 50 acres as of Monday morning, according to Clark. Clark said the fire was about 10 percent contained, but added that progress was stopped by a dozer line around the fire. Two fire engines, two 20-person fire crews, a bulldozer and a water tender were involved in fire operations on Monday, according to Clark.

Elsewhere in Central Oregon, a fire ignited alongside SW Century Drive a little after 10:30 Monday morning, ultimately growing to about an eighth of an acre before being contained, according to Dave Howe, battalion chief for the Bend Fire Department. The firefighters who arrived on scene were able to quickly contain and ultimately extinguish the blaze, Howe said.

Because of the relatively small footprint of the fires, Clark said smoke in Central Oregon was likely coming from elsewhere. The Timber Crater 6 Fire burned nearly 1,200 acres near Crater Lake, and stood at 5 percent containment on Monday, according to the fire information site InciWeb. The South Umpqua Complex Fire burned about 4,900 acres in the Umpqua National Forest.

The Garner Complex and Natchez fires, each near the Oregon-California border, burned 11,564 and 7,192 acres, respectively.

Despite the smoke in Bend, other Oregon communities located closer to the large wildfires have had far more significant problems with air quality. In the Rogue Valley, air quality readings were considered unhealthy to very unhealthy throughout much of Sunday and Monday, according to DEQ.

“We’re getting some very unhealthy levels there that we’re very concerned about,” Bailey said.

In Central Oregon, Bailey said residents can expect a similar pattern for smoke again on Tuesday, with prevailing winds driving smoke to Central Oregon during the morning. He advised residents to close windows and avoid exerting themselves as much as possible.

— Reporter: 541-617-7818, shamway@bendbulletin.com