The wildfire that broke out in Deschutes County earlier this week is now 42% contained and has not expanded since nearly doubling in size on Thursday, Central Oregon fire officials reported. The Long Bend Fire, which broke out days earlier two miles south of Maupin, remains 90% contained.
The Darlene 3 wildfire broke out Tuesday afternoon about a mile south of La Pine and has spread to 3,889 acres, according to fire officials.
The Long Bend Fire remains at 1,024 acres and has not expanded since Wednesday, said Kaitlyn Webb, spokeswoman for the Central Oregon Fire Management Service.
The cause of both fires is still under investigation, but Darlene 3 is believed to have been caused by human intervention, Webb said.
Some evacuation orders in Deschutes County were downgraded Friday afternoon, the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office reported. The Newberry Estates residential area was downgraded from Level 3 “Leave Immediately” to Level 2 “Prepare Yourself,” and the area west of Highway 97 and north of Burgess Road had its evacuation status downgraded to zero.
Level 3 evacuation orders remain in effect for parts of the Deschutes National Forest, including several campgrounds and hiking trails, Central Oregon Fire reported.
All Level 1 evacuation orders have been lifted for areas affected by the Long Bend Fire.
— Sujena Soumyanath is a public safety reporter on The Oregonian/OregonLive. Reach her at 503-221-4309 or [email protected].
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