Hot temperatures and breezy conditions across Central Oregon over the weekend fueled wildfire activity, keeping crews busy and prompting evacuations in Crook County.

The 719-acre Highland Fire around 6 miles southeast of Prineville had 5% containment as of Monday morning.

The fire prompted Level-3 Go Now for around 1,500 residents of the area. No structures have burned as of Monday morning. Gov. Tina Kotek invoked the Emergency Conflagration Act for the fire on Saturday.

U.S. Congressman Cliff Bentz, who represents much of Eastern Oregon, said Monday that FEMA assistance is on the way to help fight the Highland wildfire.

“We must protect the homes, infrastructure and natural resources threatened by this dangerous wildfire. This authorization will help the Crook County Community,” said Bentz.

Work on the Highland Fire over the weekend was largely tactical, with task forces conducting patrols around homes and neighborhoods, searching for hotspots and completing fuel reduction treatments, including tree limbing, juniper thinning and hazard tree removal. The fire also prompted electricity cuts around the region.

Evacuation orders for the fire are issued by the Crook County Sheriff’s office. Evacuation maps, found online, show Level-3 evacuations in place for areas south of Bonnie Rd. and north of Davis Loop.

“The threat is still there so we encourage people to heed all evacuation orders that have been listed by the sheriff’s office,” said Kassidy Kern, a public information officer for Central Oregon Fire Info.

“Once we get through today, which is supposed to be incredibly hot with gusty winds, then we should have some of those lines and some of that fire checked by those winds. If we can get through that we will see increased containment on this fire.”

A temporary evacuation shelter has been set up at Eastside Church (3174 Northeast 3rd St. in Prineville). Large animals can be taken to the arena at Brasada Ranch.

Fire crews are also responding to the Cram Fire on private rangeland northeast of Madras. As of Monday morning the fire had burned around 4,500 acres and was 0% contained.

Prineville BLM wildfire crews are working to keep the fire east of Highway 97 and south of Highway 293. Structure protection work is being carried out to protect private property and public infrastructure.

On Monday afternoon the the Jefferson County Sheriff issued a Level-3 Go Now order for areas near the fire. Officials are asking the public to use Hay Creek Rd. for evacuations and to avoid Pony Butte.

Other large regional fires include the Elk Fire (2,802 acres, 16% contained) burning seven miles southwest of Beatty in Klamath County. An evacuation shelter has been established by the Red Cross at the Living Spring Church in Bonanza. Evacuation orders have been lifted for the 4,403-acre Willow Fire in southeast Crook County.

Most of the fires happening across the region are human-caused, said Kern. With multiple fires burning, resources are starting to become “stretched thin,” she said.

Kern is urging the public to avoid actions that could spark a fire — such as chain-dragging or unattended campfires — to not create an even greater burden on local resources.

“Our resources are being allocated to multiple emerging incidents. They are growing very quickly in these hot and dry temperatures and some of them could be avoided,” said Kern. “We are asking the public to do what you need to do for fire prevention.”