Members of the Logan Hotshots work near the beach at Elk Lake. 

UPDATE 10:45 a.m. Friday:

The Deschutes County Sheriffs Office lowered the evacuation levels around Elk, Lava, Hosmer and other lakes in the Cascades Lakes area east of the Petes Lake Fire on Friday morning. 

“Due to moderating weather conditions, leading to decreased fire activity, the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office is lowering the Level 2 (Be Set) Evacuation notice for the areas around Elk and Lava Lakes to Level 1 (Be Ready),” the department said in a press release.

The Level 1 notice is in effect for areas around Elk, Hosmer, Lava and Little Lave lakes, including areas east of Cascade Lakes Highway from Blue Lagoon north to Quinn Meadows. Level 1 means people in the area should be aware of fire danger and be ready for a potential evacuation.

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The Petes Lake Fire, 30 miles southwest of Bend, was sparked by lighting Aug. 25 and is not contained because firefighters decided it was safer and more logical to let it burn itself out given its remote location.

A Level 3 — Go Now evacuation notice still remains in effect west of the Cascade Lakes Highway, and a Level 2 — Be Set notice remains in effect east of the highway at Lava and Elk lakes.

But as fall-like weather inches its way into the region, Jacob Welsh, Petes Lake Fire public information officer, encouraged people to get back to the lake to enjoy some last-minute summer recreation.

“I would say it is safe for people to come up and recreate, just as long as they don’t go into the closed area. But it is cool to get your last bit of summer, or first bit of fall weather up at Elk Lake or Lava Lake or drive the Cascade Lakes Highway,” Welsh said. “There’s little traffic, and it’s been quiet up there. I’ve never seen it this quiet.”

The National Weather Service office in Pendleton said it is likely that fall-like weather will be the general trend now, as the season changes.

Meteorologist Camden Plunkett said current weather conditions and forecasts in Central Oregon indicate that fall is working its way into the region with intentions of sticking around.

According to weather service forecasts, Bend and Redmond should expect cooler temperatures and slight chances of rain showers starting Sunday with higher chances Sunday night and Monday.

Hannah Chandler-Cooley, a meteorologist with the weather service office in Portland, said it is expecting rain showers starting this weekend in the Three Sisters Wilderness Area that will continue to saturate the area.

Chandler-Cooley said a brief warmup is expected Friday for the area around the Petes Lake Fire, but it will be short lived.

“We are having another brief little warm up today and through tomorrow, with temperatures back up into the 70s. But after that, for this weekend through at least the middle of next week, we are forecasting much cooler temperatures with rain chances basically every day through Wednesday,” Chandler-Cooley said Thursday.

Chandler-Cooley said multiple weather systems will be moving through starting Saturday. For the Three Sisters Wilderness Area, the first system isn’t expected to hit until late Saturday evening or earlier Sunday morning, with a 30% to 40% chance of rain showers. Saturday and Sunday are expected to be cooler and cloudier, which should also help quell the fire, she said.

“Then we are expecting a much more potent weather system late Sunday into Tuesday, and that one we are expecting, by Monday, up to 70% to 90% chance of rain lasting through Tuesday,” Chandler-Cooley said.

Chances of rain lower to around 40% to 50% by Wednesday, Chandler-Cooley said.

Welsh said current conditions on the fire will likely only affect certain hikes along the Pacific Crest Trail in areas that remain closed, but given the fire’s remote location and decreased activity due to recent rains and cooler temperatures, fire officials say it is under control as crews wind down their activities.

Welsh said there are currently around 70 fire personnel on the fire and one Hotshot crew working on fuel reduction.

“We’ve moved into the cooler and wetter trend and we are likely to not see the same fire behavior we saw last weekend,” Welsh said. “That was due to hot and dry weather, and I think we’ve moved into our fall-like weather. There’s no anticipated movement on the fire. No substantial movement.”

Welsh said the fire will continue to creep and smolder under the forest canopy for some time, but based on short- and long-term forecasts, it shouldn’t pose any threat.

While the fire continues to fizzle out, crews are focused on cleaning up the fuel breaks on the Cascade Lakes Highway from the Cedar Creek Fire, which burned in the area last year and created defensible space in areas around Elk and Lava lakes, Welsh said.