Blaze also closes a 12-mile section of Highway 58

BEND (AP) - A wildfire burning in the Deschutes National Forest forced residents in the community of Crescent Lake Junction to evacuate.

The roughly 1,000-acre blaze also closed a 12-mile stretch of state Highway 58.

ODOT crews at about 4 p.m. closed the highway from milepost 64, about three miles east of Willamette Pass, to milepost 73, near the Crescent Cut-Off Road. It was expected to be closed through at least today.

Virginia Gibbons of the Central Oregon Interagency Dispatch Center in Prineville said strong winds caused the Royce Butte fire to blow across retardant and bulldozer lines late Tuesday afternoon.

She said Crescent Lake Junction was evacuated as well as nearby campgrounds, the East Odell Lodge, the Diamond Peak subdivision and summer homes at Crescent and Odell lakes.

In all, about 120 people had to leave.

Shop owner Jon Ditgen witnessed the large flames, telling KTVZ-TV the fire erupted when 40 mph winds arrived.

"You could feel the wind, you could hear the wind, and the sound of the flames sounded like turbo jets taking off,'' Ditgen said. "And it fanned the whole fire and just exploded.''

Tavern owner Maury Anderson said the fire spread in a matter of minutes, and his business was lucky to not get burned.

"I've been up here for 17 years,'' he said. "I never had anything come this close.''

The fire erupted amid a warning for hot, dry weather that can bring extreme fire behavior. Gibbons said the blaze is believed to be human caused, and it is under investigation.

A Red Cross shelter has been set up at the community center in Crescent.

Motorists needing to travel between Central Oregon and the Willamette Valley should use alternate routes such as Highway 126, U.S. 20, Highway 22 or U.S. 26. Highway 138 East remains closed due to the Rattle Fire.

For more information on the fire, go to http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/centraloregon/fire/, or call the Central Oregon Interagency Dispatch Center at (541) 416-6800.