Wildfires near La Pine slow; Long Bend fire at 90% containment

The wildfire that broke out in Deschutes County earlier this week is now 42% contained and has not grown since nearly doubling in size Thursday, Central Oregon firefighters reported . The Long Bend fire which broke out a few days earlier three kilometers south of Maupin remains 90% contained.

The Darlene 3 wildfire broke out Tuesday afternoon about a mile south of La Pine and has grown to 3,889 acres, according to fire officials.

The Long Bend Fire is still at 1,024 acres and has not grown since Wednesday, said Kaitlyn Webb, a spokeswoman for the Central Oregon Fire Management Department.

Authorities are still investigating the cause of both fires. They believe Darlene 3 was caused by human activity, Webb said.

Some Deschutes County evacuation advisories were lowered Friday afternoon, the Deschutes County Sheriff's Office reported. The Newberry Estates residential area was lowered from Level 3 “Go Now” to Level 2 “Be Set”, and the area west of Highway 97 and north of Burgess Road was reduced to no status. evacuation.

Level 3 evacuation advisories remain in place for parts of the Deschutes National Forest, including several campgrounds and trails, Central Oregon Fire reported.

All Level 1 evacuation advisories have been lifted for areas affected by the Long Bend Fire.

— Sujena Soumyanath is a reporter on The Oregonian/OregonLive’s public safety team. She can be reached at 503-221-4309 or [email protected].