A large air tanker drops retardant on the Cowboy Fire south of Prineville in the Juniper Canyon community.

The Crook County Sheriff’s Office canceled all fire evacuation orders in the Juniper Canyon area at 9:30 a.m. Saturday after Crook County Fire & Rescue and several wildland fire agencies confirmed there has been no increase in fire behavior on the now 204-acre Cowboy Fire burning near Juniper Canyon Road.

More than 80 fire personnel were battling the Cowboy Fire on Saturday. It was first spotted near Black Butte and Tower Butte lookouts at about 3:30 p.m. Friday. The fire has mainly burned areas within the Bureau of Land Management jurisdiction, the Crook County Sheriff’s Office said in a release Saturday.

“The cause is still under investigation and investigators arrived out there sometime early (Saturday) morning and are working to determine the cause,” Christy Shaw, a public information officer for the Central Oregon Interagency Dispatch Center said.

Fire crews from Crook County Fire & Rescue and multiple fire agencies initially responded to the Cowboy Fire, which started in an area close to Juniper Canyon Road at approximately mile marker 8, the sheriff’s office said.

“It was a small area that was within about three quarters of a mile from the actual head of the fire,” Michael Ryan, a commander with the Special Services Division of Crook County Emergency Management, said.

Ryan said at about 4 p.m. Friday, the southernmost portion of that area was issued a Level 3, “go now” evacuation order and the northern part of the area was issued a Level 2, “get set” evacuation order.

However, at 9 p.m. Friday, all evacuation levels in the area were dropped to Level 1 “be ready,” the sheriff’s office said in a Facebook post. Saturday morning, all evacuation orders were canceled.

The fire burned to the northwest and and was pushed by strong winds from the south, the release said. Ground crews were aided by air support units and well over a dozen air drops were made to help slow and ultimately halt the fire’s movement to the north.