'This fire grew very quickly': Darlene 3 fire is 50% contained at just under 4,000 acres

LA PINE, Ore. (KTVZ) — It's been four days since hundreds of La Pine area residents evacuated their homes. Crews contained the Darlene 3 Fire at just under 4,000 acres and 50 percent contained as of Saturday.

“The fire grew very quickly,” Stacy Long, a wildfire prevention, mitigation and education specialist with the U.S. Forest Service, said Saturday. “This is explained by the high temperatures that day. The wind was blowing very strongly from the west that day.”

The start of the Darlene 3 fire brought eerie smoke-filled skies as firefighters on the ground battled the flames and planes and helicopters flew overhead to drop retardant and water on the fire.

La Pine resident Donald Lloyd Allen Cantrell recalled, “I grabbed my little girl here (his dog), Trinket, and she's my life. I was so upset, I just grabbed a few things and left.”

The fire prompted residents to seek shelter at La Pine High School, where the American Red Cross is still staffing the evacuation shelter.

Graham Bellairs, head of the disaster management program, said Saturday: “When you're displaced from your home, it's an extremely difficult time. And it's not necessarily a welfare issue, but it's a need for shelter and food, and that's what matters.”

As of Saturday morning, the number of people on the ground was still over 400. It was also the last day for the Oregon State Fire Marshal's Red Team on the incident, as they were demobilizing and returning home, with the Central Oregon Type 3 Incident Management Team taking over.

The number of households at Level 2, which means “be prepared” to evacuate at any time, was more than 1,000. More than 40 were still at Level 3, which means “LEAVE NOW.”

Chantel Helwig, another La Pine resident, said: “It was pretty quiet, considering how scary it was. And it was also a little frustrating, because as soon as the evacuation levels went down, they would go right back up.”

The cause of the fire, which broke out on BLM land and is believed to be human caused, is still under investigation. As residents return home, fire officials want to remind everyone to maintain a defensible space around your home.