SUNRIVER, OR -- Mt. Bachelor remains under a Level Three evacuation order and will stay closed Thursday, as the Bachelor Complex of fires grows to more than 10,000 acres.
In a video posted to Mt. Bachelor's Facebook and Instagram pages, President John Merriman said Wednesday, "Out of the abundance of safety, we are still going to be under the evacuation order for the short term. I don’t exactly know how long, so we’re going to be taking it day by day. Every afternoon, we’ll put something out on social media on status for the next day." He says the resort's infrastructure is not in danger, "We just really want to give the Forest Service all the support that we can, and kind of keep that area clear, so that they can do what they need to do to keep us safe."
Parts of Sunriver also under a Level Two “Be Set” warning. Deschutes Public Library has postponed the grand opening celebration planned for Saturday at the Sunriver Library. The Sunriver branch remains open while under a Level 1 evacuation warning and officials say the building is designated as a Cleaner Air Facility by the county, due to its high-quality air filtration system. The postponed event will be scheduled at a later date.
On the firelines, Operations Section Chief Nathan Goodrich says crews tried to take advantage Wednesday of favorable weather conditions, "Higher humidities, lower temperature and certainly with some of the precipitation’s going to help us out. But, trying to get a little bit more of a proactive approach." In the Bachelor Complex, Goodrich expects the Backside Fire to be fully contained soon, "On the backside of Mt. Bachelor; they’re doing really well on that fire. Pretty much in mop-up phase, they have line all the way around that."
Around 30 fires make up the complex; the largest is Little Lava, "We have been talking about the Backside Fire and 911 Fire, and a couple of other ones over the past couple of days. But the Little Lava Fire, over the last couple of days, with the northwest and west wind, has made a pretty good push to the east. I’m sure a lot of folks saw that column," Goodrich said Wednesday morning.
East of La Pine, the Flat Top and Firestone fires are much bigger than the Bachelor Complex. Goodrich says Tuesday was tough for crews on those lines, "Specifically out here, kind out in the desert. We had a very active fire day, lots of fire growth on all flanks of both incidents." He says there are a lot of reasons to protect that portion of the Bend-Fort Rock Ranger District, "Cabin Lake Guard Station is out there, the BPD powerline and substation at Sand Creek, certainly private land and cultural resources."
The Flat Top Fire has grown to more than 30,000 acres, and the Firestone Fire is over 8,700 acres. Goodrich believes they will soon merge into one, bordered by China Hat Road.
With large fires forcing the closure of the Three Sisters Wilderness and portions of the Deschutes National Forest, all Central Cascades Wilderness Permits have also been canceled for the time being.
11:30 a.m. UPDATE -- The Deschutes County Sheriff's Office has lowered the evacuation level for Sunriver, Fall River Estates and other areas previously in Level 2. They are now in Level 1 (Get Ready). Mt. Bachelor remains in the Level 3 (Go Now) zone, which remains unchanged. The current map of evacuation zones can be found HERE.
