FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 5, 2022
Central Oregon – Fire activity was relatively quiet yesterday over central Oregon. Firefighters made great progress increasing containment on existing wildfires.
Only one new fire was reported yesterday evening. Incident 558 is burning in grass and juniper on Prineville District BLM lands roughly 15 miles northwest of the town of Paulina. Air Attack estimated the fire was 2 acres in size last night. Three engines arrived on scene around 1:30 a.m. and stayed out on the fire overnight. Three engines and one Type 3 helicopter are assigned to the fire this morning. More information will be available once resources are able to assess the fire in daylight.
The 274-acre Fly Creek Fire is 95% contained. This fire is located near Balancing Rock along the Metolius arm of Lake Billy Chinook on the Deschutes National Forest. A Type 4 Incident Management Team will assume command of the fire this morning. The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office lifted the Level 1 evacuation notice for the Three Rivers area and the Level 3 evacuation notice for the Perry South and Monty Campgrounds. The campgrounds will reopen for camping and recreation use today. This will be the final update on this fire unless there are significant changes.
Firefighters secured 100% containment yesterday on the 1.6-acre Juniper Creek Fire which is located roughly 10 air-miles south of the Fly Creek Fire.
Slightly cooler temperatures are expected again today with breezy conditions. Despite the slightly cooler temperatures, conditions will generally be warm and dry with low relative humidity across the area. High temperatures return again Sunday through Monday. The potential for hold-over fires still exists, especially as temperatures increase over the weekend.
As we move into a warm weekend, fire officials would like to remind the public to exercise caution as the potential for fire growth remains high. Check for fire restrictions before making plans to have a campfire. For more information on fire restrictions, visit: https://www.centraloregonfire.org/. If you do decide to enjoy a campfire in an approved fire ring at a designated campground, remember to drown, stir and feel before walking away. It should be cool enough to touch with your hand. Check your trailer chains to ensure they aren’t dragging; this can cause sparks. Avoid driving over or parking on dry vegetation. Fewer human-caused wildfires means that firefighters can focus on the natural-caused wildfires that can’t be prevented.
Central Oregon may experience smoke impacts from a few different active fires on neighboring forests and surrounding states. Smoke often settles into low-lying areas and river corridors overnight. The public is advised to ensure all windows and doors are securely closed in the evening and early morning hours to limit smoke exposure. For air quality information, visit: https://fire.airnow.gov/ or https://www.airnow.gov/. For more information on how to limit your smoke exposure, visit: https://www.centraloregonfire.org/wildfire-smoke-your-health/.
We will not be putting out an evening Central Oregon Interagency Dispatch update since fire activity has decreased. We will only do a morning update moving forward unless there is significant fire activity to report. For current wildland fire information, the public can visit centraloregonfire.org or follow fire information on Twitter @CentralORfire.
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