Evacuation levels were again increased around the Akawa Butte Fire in Central Oregon. The Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office announced new Level 1 “Be Ready” and Level 2 “Get Set" evacuation orders Thursday morning.
The fire has been moving toward the city of Sisters, and some Level 3 “Go Now!” evacuations were expanded on Wednesday.
Fire officials said a massive pyrocumulus cloud had formed over the fire and created its own weather system, which produced its own lightning and led to some extreme fire behavior.
Crews said that later in the evening Wednesday some precipitation moved in and calmed fire activity a bit.
That rain helped Incident Commander Craig Pettinger encourage firefighters during the night shift, saying, “We’ve been handed a gift, and we need to take advantage of this break in the weather.”
Crews overnight focused on control lines along the southern and western sides of the fire, while structural resources continued to triage on protecting homes in the fire’s path.
But on Thursday morning, the sheriff’s office said hot, dry, and breezy conditions were back, and evacuation orders were changing again.
The sheriff’s office has been posting evacuation updates on its Facebook page.
A shelter for evacuees from the Akawa Butte Fire is available at Sisters High School, at 1700 W. McKinney Butte Rd. in Sisters.
A community meeting about the fire will be held at Sisters High School on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. It will be livestreamed on the Sisters-Camp Sherman Fire District Facebook page.
Evacuating for the second time in a year
Tim Flynn and his two kids live in a subdivision on the edge of Sisters.
Early Wednesday, the three evacuated their home for the second time in a year. The family was forced to leave last year, on August 22, when the Flat Fire made a run up nearby Whychus Canyon.
Flynn said they were doing OK, though a few of their cats were unaccounted for. So far, he thinks their home is safe.
“Some people from the neighborhood who are fighting the fire said, as of last night, our homes were still there,” Flynn said on Thursday. “The rain actually helped, but there was a lot of spread toward us.
Today the temperature and wind direction are unfavorable, but it seems like they were able to establish a pretty good line so I’m hopeful it won’t come down to a house to house protection.”
During the Flat Fire last August, Flynn’s neighborhood was protected by firefighters for nights on end, and not a single house in their subdivision was lost.
“I’m buoyed not only by the serious amount of resources they’re throwing at this but also by my kids. This time their resilience is really shining through.”
The Akawa Butte Fire, sparked by lightning last week, was burning more than 26,000 acres in Deschutes and Jefferson counties as of Thursday morning. Its perimeter was listed at 3% containment.
A community meeting about the fire will be held at the Sisters High School on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. It will be live-streamed on the Sisters-Camp Sherman Fire District Facebook page.
KLCC’s Chris Lehman contributed to this report.
This story comes to you from the Northwest News Network, a collaboration between public media organizations in Oregon and Washington.
