Current Fire Information
Firefighters spent a "chilly but productive" night on the Two Bulls Fire, said Mike Carlson, the night operations supervisor. The overnight temperature plummeted into the 30s while crews hunted down and extinguished smokes and embers 100-300 feet inside the fireline.
The Two Bulls Fire broke out midday Saturday near Tumalo, 10 miles northwest of Bend. By early Sunday the fire had burned more than 6,000 acres of private forestland and federal lands on the Deschutes National Forest.
Today, crews continue mop-up operations while being vigilant for flare-ups of fire, inside and outside the fireline. Yesterday, a 1/4-acre fire suddenly appeared outside of the Two Bulls Fire's fireline and south of Skyliners Rd. Helicopters and engines from the Two Bulls Fire quickly attacked the little fire and brought it under control. Fire-fighting resources from the Two Bulls Fire area are available again today to assist local firefighters with any new wildfires that may break out.
The Two Bulls Fire remains at 6,906 acres and is 40 percent contained. Resources Assigned to the Two Bulls Fire.
• 1,163 personnel
• 6 helicopters
• 45 crews
• 77 engines
• 11 dozers
• 15 water tenders
Fire Investigation
The Investigation Team wants any information citizens can provide. Please call with any information about activity, individuals, or vehicles seen on Cascade Timberlands property in the days leading up to the fire.
Taylor Northwest contributed $2500 to the existing reward, making the reward total $4500 to anyone with information that leads to a successful conviction. Anyone with information that could help identify the suspects is asked to contact the Crime Stoppers Tip Line at 1-877-876-8477 (TIPS). If citizens see suspicious activity or something that doesn’t look right, we encourage them to report it to Deschutes County 9-1-1.
Evacuation Information
The Sheriff’s Office lowered the Skyliners Road Evacuation Notice to Level II last night at 8:00 p.m. The Sheriff’s Office WILL ONLY ALLOW RESIDENTS IN THIS AREA. Residents returning to their homes should be aware of possible additional fire activity. Residents should be cautious if they return home as there is only one main exit out of the Skyliners Road residential area.
There are no Level III Evacuation Notices in effect. Level I Evacuation Notices are in effect for:
· The Saddleback Subdivision area to include some evacuated homes on Johnson Road, Tyler Road and Kuhlman Road.
· The area located south of Shevlin Park Road, west of Mt. Washington Drive, and north of Century Drive.
· The remainder of Northwest Crossing (east of Mt. Washington Drive), and the area that includes residents north of Shevlin Park and west of Mt. Washington Drive.
Deschutes County I. T. has produced a link to a map that shows the current Evacuation Notice Levels, Interactive Map: https://maps.deschutes.org/custom/simple/index.html (This map will be updated with any change in Evacuation Notice Levels). For current evacuation updates, please contact the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office information line at 541-550-4850.
Sheriff’s Office units are patrolling the areas affected by the Evacuation Notices. There will be additional Sheriff’s Office and U.S. Forest Service Law Enforcement patrols working this week and through the weekend.
School Closures
William E. Miller Elementary, Cascade Middle and Summit High schools are open on today and all other District schools will be open as scheduled. Cascade Middle and Summit High school students are encouraged to check their school websites for information about finals, final projects, and materials return.
Fire Danger
Due to hot and dry weather conditions and the low fuel moistures we are experiencing, Bend Fire Department, ODF and Deschutes National Forest have increased the level of fire danger to High as of this morning. Fires under High conditions begin and spread quickly and burn with greater intensity. All fires have the potential of becoming disastrous. Human activity is one of the leading cause of wild land fires throughout the summer, both accidental and intentional in nature. Here are some tips to help decrease the chances of a wildfire starting:
· ​Properly dispose of cigarettes and smoking materials.
· Follow all burning restrictions in place in Bend and any areas you recreate, live or work.
· Keep matches and lighters away from children.
· If you are operating equipment, including lawn and garden equipment, ensure you watch for sparks or malfunctioning equipment.
USFS Closures
The Deschutes National Forest has instituted an area closure as a result of the Two Bulls Fire west of Bend. The area encompasses Forest Roads 4601 West of Tumalo Creek, 4606, 1612, 590, 480, 113, 110, 377, 900, 1620, 1628 and 370 North of Todd Lake. This area closure is bordered on the south by Cascade Lakes Highway, which remains open at this time.This closure includes all roads and trails within the area including the popular Phil's Trailhead system and much of the West Bend project area that's part of the Deschutes Collaborative Forest Project.
The following county road closures remain in place: Tumalo Reservoir Road is closed to westbound traffic at Rock Springs Road, Bull Springs Road is closed to westbound traffic at Johnson Road, Skyliners Road is closed to westbound traffic at FS 4604 (Phil’s Trailhead).
Donations
The Two Bulls Fire incident has been asked by Bend residents and surrounding communities what donations can be offered to the firefighters. On behalf of the firefighters, the teams managing the fire and Deschutes National Forest, we want to thank the public for their generosity. At this point, all of the needs of the firefighters are being met. If you would like to make a monetary donation, we encourage you to consider the local Red Cross Chapter www.redcross.org/or/bend/ways-to-donate or 541-382-2142, or the Wildland Firefighter Foundation at www.wffoundation.org, which contributes to injured or fallen firefighters and their families. Helping the foundation, helps the firefighter community.
Upcoming Community Event on Wildfire
Deschutes County, City of Bend Fire Department and the Deschutes National Forest invite Central Oregon residents to a panel discussion and film on wildfire in our community in mid-June. The goal is to help people understand more about Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) wildfires, wildfire risks to our community and reducing those risks to their personal property.
“The Fire Line: Wildfire in Colorado”, will be showing on Thursday, June 19 at 7 pm at Hitchcock auditorium, Pioneer Building 201 on the Central Oregon Community College (COCC) Campus at 2600 NW College Way in Bend. Following the 30 minute film will be a short evaluation of the film by local law enforcement, county officials, structural and wildland firefighters on living and working in the wildland-urban interface (WUI) boundary between public land and local communities. Panelists include Ed Keith, Deschutes County Forester, Bob Madden, Battalion Chief with the Bend Fire Department, Nathan Garibay, Sergeant with Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office, George Ponte, District Forester, Oregon Department of Forestry and Craig Letz, Fire Staff Officer for Central Oregon Fire Management Service. There will be a question and answer period following the panels’ statements. Residents are encouraged to ask questions of the panel of fire prevention and firefighting experts. Gary Marshall, former Bend Fire Marshal and current Fire Safety Manager at Sisters-Camp Sherman Fire, will emcee the event.
“The Fire Line”, is a documentary produced by The Denver Post that examines the effects of catastrophic wildfires in the west and their impacts on community members, firefighters, and natural resources. While the focus of the film is on wildfires in Colorado, there are many lessons that Central Oregon communities can derive from their losses. The film discusses the challenges that homeowners face while living in a fire prone environment and how homeowners can better mitigate the risks to personal property, local firefighters and the beautiful Central Oregon landscape.
