The Akawana Fire near Lake Billy Chinook has burned 2,094 acres and has line completely around it, as crews brought the blaze to 60 percent containment, officials said Saturday.

As the wildfire season heads up, federal agencies alerted industry and the public Friday that the use of private drones (Unmanned Aircraft Systems or UAS) over or near active wildfire operations puts firefighters at risk and hampers their ability to protect lives, property and natural resources.

The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality on Thursday urged residents in Crook, Deschutes, Klamath and Jefferson counties to take precautions from smoke caused by fires burning in Central Oregon and California.

The Akawana Fire burning southwest of Lake Billy Chinook grew to nearly 2,000 acres Wednesday, but crews brought it to 30 percent containment -- and a wind shift spared Three Rivers residents from immediate evacuation.

This year's fire season will begin Friday at 12:01 a.m. for the Oregon Department of Forestry's Central Oregon District. Warm spring temperatures have quickly melted the winter snowpack and dried wildland fuels, officials said Thursday.

The Deschutes National Forest conducted a prescribed burn Tuesday west of Bend on land owned and being developed by The Tree Farm LLC, putting up a tall smoke plume that was highly visible throughout the region.

A 638-acre wildfire about 20 miles northwest of Madras was fully contained on Tuesday. It all started Sunday evening, when a campfire escaped and quickly grew into a large-scale fire.

An escaped campfire sparked a wildfire that blackened almost 640 acres near the Deschutes River in Wasco County before crews were able to contain it, officials said Tuesday. It was one of three human-caused blazes in the area over the holiday weekend, prompting calls for caution as temperatures heat up.

The season for open debris burning on residential and private lands will end at sunset next Tuesday across Deschutes, Crook and Jefferson counties, the Central Oregon Fire Chiefs Association announced Friday..

As we enter fire season, the sheriffs and emergency managers of Crook, Deschutes and Jefferson counties and their partner agencies said Wednesday they want to insure you understand the three-level evacuation system and where to get current information regarding fire activity.