McCaffery Fire fully contained after burning near Redmond Airport

Published 5:09 pm Saturday, July 6, 2024

The McCaffery Fire burning east of the Redmond Airport reached 458 acres, but crews had it 100 percent contained as of Wednesday, according to Central Oregon Fire Info.

Fire growth slowed on Sunday, though hot and dry conditions challenged fire crews as mopped up the perimeter and got containment.

The Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office lowered evacuation notices for the areas on Sunny Sage Road off McCaffery Road and Powell Butte Estates and south of Powell Butte Highway in Crook County.

The fire burned on Prineville District Bureau of Land Management lands. On Sunday, the BLM instituted a temporary area closure to protect firefighters working to contain the McCaffery Fire.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

The Redmond Airport closed down its airspace to non-firefighting aircraft from 4-9 p.m. on Saturday to allow aerial operations to attack the blaze. The fire got as close as roughly a half a mile southeast of the airport, but crews and conditions got it to run in the opposite direction.

Airport Manager Zach Bass said the U.S. Forest Service requested the airport to be shut down to allow a safe airspace for firefighters. He said no airport equipment was damaged and the terminal was never at risk.

“Everything is a learning experience,” Bass said. “I do think that in the future we’re going to look at doing a fire risk mitigation program.”

On Monday afternoon, Redmond Fire & Rescue banned recreational fires in the area, due to dangerous red flag conditions. Any “new and existing fires have a strong potential for extreme fire behavior,” said Redmond Fire & Rescue Fire Marshal Tom Mooney, in a release. The affected areas include the entire Deschutes National Forest.