Forest Fire Evacuees Return Home
About 5,000 people who were forced to flee a fast-moving forest fire near here began returning to their homes Monday as the danger subsided, officials said.
The Awbrey Mountain fire, six miles southwest of Bend, a town of about 17,000 people, destroyed 28 homes, and burned across 3,300 acres of forest, grass and brush, said Oregon Department of Forestry spokesman Jim Unterwegner.
The blaze was contained but still smoldered about a mile from the homes, Unterwegner said.
More than 1,600 firefighters were expected to surround the fire with a containment line by tonight, he said. At least five other fires are burning in central and southern Oregon. The largest of them, the 1,300-acre Newberry Crater fire about 90 miles south of Bend, forced dozens of vacationers to flee area parks and resorts.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
