Firefighters make progress on Central Oregon fires
Published 9:41 am Tuesday, September 11, 2018
- An air tanker drops retardant on the Tepee Fire east of Bend. (Ryan Brennecke/Bulletin photo)
Following a night of minimal fire activity, firefighters continued mop-up work around the edges of Central Oregon’s two largest fires on Monday.
On Monday, firefighters continued mopping up the perimeter of the Tepee Fire, which has burned 2,064 acres to the southeast of Bend, in order to increase containment. The fire, which ignited on Friday from an abandoned campfire, was 40 percent contained Monday, according to the Central Oregon Interagency Dispatch Center.
On Sunday, the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office lowered evacuation levels associated with the fire, placing all areas south of Ford Road and west of Forest Service road 2016 outside the forest boundary in a Level 2 (be set) evacuation. All areas south of Ford Road, west of Spencer Wells Road, east of Forest Service road 2016 and north of the forest boundary are in a Level 1 (get ready) evacuation, according to the dispatch center.
Firefighters also continued mopping up areas around the Willow Fire, burning east of Madras. While the rough and rocky terrain near the fire remains challenging, firefighters expected to increase containment on Monday afternoon as they cooled hot spots on fire lines. The fire is estimated at 400 acres, and remains 60 percent contained, according to the dispatch center.