Firefighters make progress on Rooster Rock Fire -Tuesday, August 3, 8:30 p.m.

Incident Commander Mark Rapp of Sisters expressed cautious satisfaction at the progress made last night and today on the roughly 2,700-acre Rooster Rock Fire burning southeast of town.

In the absence of strong winds and exceptionally high temperatures and low humidity, Rapp told citizens at a public meeting Tuesday night, "we're confident we'll have a pretty good line around this thing in the next day or so."

The fire is only 5 percent contained and no containment date has been set. Rapp said his team will remain cautious about official containment percentages.

The northern fire line facing homes in Plainview and Ponderosa Cascade is holding up well, Rapp said, and the prevailing wind is pushing the fire toward the southeast.

"I would say that there's a slight chance something could slip out there (toward the north), but that's not what we expect based on the predicted weather," Rapp said.

The fire threw out a 50-acre spot at the head of the main blaze this afternoon, which sent a new plume of smoke into the air south of Plainview. According to Central Oregon Interagency Dispatch, a significant amount of resources are currently working to contain the spot fire.

Rapp said there has been some "slop-over" along the southern perimeter.

"They should be able to pick these up tonight," he said.

A dozen bulldozers are cutting line in the area.

Residents who evacuated the area yesterday did not get a solid answer as to when they would be allowed back into their homes. For recorded information regarding evacuation reentry status, residents can call the Deschutes County Sheriff evacuation line at 541-550-4886.

Several of those who evacuated said they respond immediately when sheriff's deputies knocked on their doors and told them that there was a Level 2 evacuation in effect - meaning that it was advisable to leave.

"At that point, it's not worth it," said Tammy Taylor, whose home is on the exposed edge of Ponderosa Cascade. "When they told us 'this is your only warning,' we took it as a pretty good indication that it was burning pretty good."

Since she and her husband Jeff have a motor home, they figured it was best to pack up and just get out of the way.

For many residents, the worst of the event was the heavy smoke that descended over their homes in the early hours of the morning as an inversion pressed down under cooling temperatures.

One storage outbuilding was confirmed lost in yesterday's action. Some 550 personnel are assigned to the fire. Resources currently assigned to or enroute to the Rooster Rock Fire include 20 engines, 21 hand crews, five helicopters, 10 water tenders, and 12 dozers