VIDEO/PHOTOS: Spot fires from a prescribed burn in Deschutes County started what is now considered a wildfire Thursday, according to the U.S. Forest Service.
The Pine Mountain Fire had burned 2,866 acres about 14 miles southeast of Bend just before 11 p.m. It was initially reported as a 1,500-acre wildfire at 4 p.m. Weather conditions were supposed to be favorable for the prescribed burn, according to the Forest Service, but spot fires occurred outside the boundary.
Jaimie Olle, a spokesperson with the Forest Service, told KATU that firefighters did cancel prescribed operations for Thursday, but firefighters conducted operations on did on Tuesday and Wednesday. More firefighting resources have been called in.
Officials say smoke from the fire can be seen from Highway 20, Bend and the Newberry Caldera. On top of Pine Mountain is an astronomical observatory called the Pine Mountain Observatory. It is owned by the University of Oregon.
Alton Luken, who is in the school’s physics department and manages the observatory, told KATU on Thursday afternoon that firefighters were on the observatory’s grounds cleaning up after a prescribed burn. He said the burn went as planned and the observatory was not threatened.
