BEND – The Bend-Fort Rock Ranger District on the Deschutes National Forest has issued a temporary area closure around the Tepee Fire, currently burning approximately 10 miles southeast of Bend.
The Tepee Fire was started by an abandoned campfire on Friday and quickly grew to several hundred acres burning in brush and timber. As of September 8 at 8:00 a.m., the fire had grown to nearly 1600 acres. For the safety of the public, the Deschutes National Forest, Bend-Fort Rock Ranger District will temporarily close all trails and roads within the northwest section of the East Fort Rock OHV Trail System. This closure begins on Forest Road 18 at the junction of 1820 and continues south to 1825. The southern boundary of the closure includes Forest Roads 1830 and 1835 to its junction with Forest Road 25. Forest Roads 25 and 23 remain open but represent the eastern perimeter of the closure area and public lands west of those open roads cannot safely be accessed by the public. The northern perimeter of the area closure is Forest Road 18 to Forest Road 2015 which remains closed.
Public lands managed by the Prineville District Bureau of Land Management including and adjacent to the East Fort Rock OHV Trail System cannot be safely accessed and all road closures should be heeded unless otherwise exempted by emergency personnel.
The Tepee Fire is currently being managed by a central Oregon Type 3 Incident Management Team and Incident Commander, Cameron Danison.
