The University of Oregon’s space observatory, Pine Mountain Observatory, was evacuated on Saturday, August 20, due to threat from a wildfire east of Bend, Ore.
No damage to the observatory was reported but, “one to two” people were evacuated from the center according to Lisa Clark, Information Officer at the Central Oregon Interagency Dispatch Center.
The fire burned about 2 miles from the observatory, prompting the evacuation.
East of the Cascade Mountains, wildfires tear through hundreds of arid acreage every summer. But this year has been milder, with fewer storms and lightning strikes this season compared to past years, according to Clark.
Oregon has been fortunate so far. According to the Oregon Department of Forestry, Oregon has suffered 559 fires that have consumed 3,583 acres of ODF protected land this year. A fraction of the 705 fires that devoured 32,627 acres of ODF land by this same point in 2015.
Pine Mountain Observatory not offering tours tonight they’ll start up their normal Fri-Sat tours next weekend; road and campground are open.
— Central OR Fire Info (@CentralORFire) August 21, 2016
The cause of the Pine Mountain Wildfire is being investigated, Clark said. She also told the Emerald the alert was triggered by the observatory itself.
On Sunday, the fire was 95 percent contained, according to Clark, bringing the total burned area to 243 acres, according to COIDC website.
UO Physics professor Scott Fisher, who manages the Pine Mountain Observatory, could not be reached by The Emerald on Monday August 22.
The observatory has been important in Fisher’s work, viewing infant solar systems from the facility. It opened for research in 1967, discovered by professor Russ Donnelly and E.G. Ebbinghausen in 1965.
The site has been serving the local community with a strong educational aspect, providing programs to local high school students for observation and analysis of data. The observatory also hosts professional projects such as the research on white dwarf stars and examination of the large-scale structure of galaxies.
From May to September, Pine Mountain Observatory welcomes visitors with tours of a 15-inch telescope. The institute also has 24-inch telescope and a charge coupled device camera attached to a “piggybacked” 8-inch telescope to create wide-field images. It attracts around 3,500 to 4,000 visitors each year, according to its website.
In addition to astronomy visitors, the public is also able to use the adjacent Forest Services campground for a number of activities, such as bird and wildlife watching, mountain biking, hang-gliding, hiking and horseback riding.
The U.S. Forest Service shut down Forest Road 40 and Forest Road 45 (River Summit Road) and the Besson Day Use Area because of the wildfire. The locations opened again on Monday morning at 8 a.m.
Clark said the fire season should last until mid to late October.