The Flat Fire on Friday, Aug. 22, 2025.
Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office
The Flat Fire continued to threaten communities in Deschutes and Jefferson counties over the weekend.
The blaze started Thursday evening and had grown to more than 21,971 acres with 0% containment as of Sunday morning, threatening nearly 4,000 homes.
About 10,000 people were under some level of evacuation notice, including Level 3 “GO NOW” warnings, in an area that stretched from Lake Billy Chinook to the northeast outskirts of Sisters.
Hot, dry weather continued to challenge fire crews Saturday.
Chris Schimmer with the Oregon State Fire Marshal’s Office said Sunday’s forecast could bring difficulties.
“There is a chance for some isolated thunderstorm activity over Southern Oregon that we’re going to keep an eye on. Some of those storms could drift north a little later in the day,” Schimmer said in a video posted to Facebook.
A Red Flag Warning has been issued for Central Oregon starting at noon Sunday and going through Monday evening.
Eric Perkins with the Oregon Department of Forestry said in a Facebook video Sunday that they initially did not have the resources to control the fire’s perimeter. The emphasis has been on protecting structures.
“Today we’re looking much better, we have high hopes that we can stop the forward progression of this fire,” Perkins said. “Having said that, we are in a fire fight and the weather’s not that favorable.
“It’s more favorable for the fire than the firefighters today.”
Deschutes and Jefferson counties provide evacuation maps online. A call center is also available to provide information about evacuations: 541-550-4888.
The Flat Fire, found on Aug. 21, 2025, is threatening nearly 4,000 homes in Central Oregon.
Courtesy of Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office
A Red Cross shelter has been set up at Highland Baptist Church at 3100 SW Highland Ave. in Redmond. It operates 24 hours a day for overnight stays, drop-ins and access to food and other resources.
Support for large animals is available at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds.
Firefighters’ initial attack involved federal, state, and local fire and emergency management agencies, according to Central Oregon Fire Info.
“Structural task forces remain focused on defending homes and critical infrastructure-preparing for expected increases in fire activity,” Oregon State Fire Martial Incident Commander Ian Yocum said in a statement Saturday.
Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek invoked the Emergency Conflagration Act to authorize statewide resources to fight the fire.
An community meeting about the incident will be held at Sisters High School on Monday at 6 p.m.
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