The Highland Fire in Juniper Canyon is 5% contained as of Monday morning, July 14. (Jason Chaney/Central Oregonian)

As fire suppression efforts continue on the Highland Fire in Juniper Canyon, officials have updated the level of containment and acreage burned.

According to a Central Oregon Fire report around 8 a.m. Monday morning, the fire was 5% contained, and due to more accurate fire mapping, the acreage was reduced to 719 acres. At this time, there have been no reports of any structures lost.

The fire is being managed by the Oregon Department of State Fire Marshal Blue Team (OSFM) and the Central Oregon Interagency Incident Management Team. The Monday report noted that crews built on “the excellent work completed by local Crook County firefighters, strengthening fire line around the entire perimeter.” Task forces conducted tactical patrols around homes and neighborhoods, and crews continued to search for hotspots in the duff while completing fuel reduction treatments, including tree limbing, juniper thinning and hazard tree removal.

In addition, 881 Juniper Canyon households that had lost power Saturday evening around 6 p.m. had their power restored by 6 p.m. Sunday evening, following work by Central Electric Co-Op (CEC). 

Monday, wildland firefighters plan to continue securing the established perimeter of the fire, strengthening line 20 to 30 feet into the black. OSFM task forces plan to conduct structural assessments, mop up around structures and maintain point protection in preparation for the afternoon’s weather. The fire weather forecast is predicting temperatures in the 90s with late afternoon wind gusts of 20 miles per hour. 

The fire prompted Level 1 (Be Ready), Level 2 (Be Set) and Level 3 (Go Now!) evacuations throughout Juniper Canyon. Those levels remained unchanged Monday morning, with approximately 1,500 people under an evacuation notice. Officials said residents can visit tinyurl.com/CrookCountySheriffEvacuations to view current evacuation zones and check their address for site-specific evacuation information.

A temporary evacuation shelter is still available for evacuees at Eastside Church, 3174 NE Third St., in Prineville. Rim Rock Riders have opened the arena at Brasada Ranch for large animals. 

A Crook County Fire and Rescue report said the Highland Fire was initially reported as a brush fire at 3:43 p.m., Saturday, July 12. Multiple agencies were requested and responded to the fire, including the Central Oregon Structural Task Forces, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Forest Service and Oregon Department of Forestry. 

A conflagration was invoked by Gov. Tina Kotek Saturday evening, allowing the state fire marshal to mobilize structural protection resources. On Saturday evening, the Oregon State Fire Marshal mobilized their Blue Incident Management Team and three structural task forces to the fire. One task force was sent earlier on Saturday through Immediate Response.

The incident management team and two additional task forces arrived Sunday morning before being briefed to begin work protecting structures. Fire rigs from communities and counties throughout Oregon filled the Crook County Fire and Rescue parking lot and adjacent streets Sunday morning.

Crook County Fire and Rescue, with assistance from the Oregon Department of State Fire Marshal and the Bureau of Land Management, have been working jointly to investigate the origin and cause of the fire. At this time, the fire has initially been determined to be human caused and the thorough and complete investigation is currently ongoing. To maintain the integrity of the investigation, no additional information is being released until the investigation is finalized.

For more information on the Highland Fire, follow the Crook County Fire and Rescue Facebook page.