Oregon Public Broadcasting

Weather helped Central Oregon firefighters Thursday push back a 400-acre blaze near Odell Lake.

The Royce Butte Fire, southwest of Bend, originally forced the evacuation more than 100 people and closed a nine-mile stretch of Highway 58.

Officials lifted both those orders Thursday afternoon.

Tom Knappenberger is a spokesman for regional firefighting efforts, at the Northwest Interagency Coordination Center.

Tom Knappenberger: “It’s been a relatively quiet year nationwide: Montana, Idaho, and the Northwest. Of course the big exception has been California, which had its worst year ever. Which put us over our budget nationally for fire spending."

Meanwhile, other fires near Mount Hood and Roseburg frustrated firefighters.

Reports said the Gnarl Ridge Fire on the east side of Mount Hood seemed to be out – but flared up and forced new evacuations Thursday.

The Rattle Fire, east of Roseburg, continues to grow – it's now at 11,000 acres.

Firefighters say they’re wary of thunderstorms predicted for the weekend -- though they say, the reports include the possibility of rain -- which they'd welcome.