Pickup blaze sparks brush fire S. of Juniper Butte; human-caused 3-acre brush fire contained SE of Alfalfa

(Update: Fire near Alfalfa mapped at 3 acres, human-caused)

CULVER, Ore. (KTVZ) – A pickup fire on Highway 97 south of Juniper Butte sparked a half-acre brush fire Wednesday afternoon, while firefighters later encircled and on Thursday fully contained a 3-acre brush fire southeast of Alfalfa that was human-caused, officials said.

Jefferson County Fire and EMS crews were dispatched around 4:45 p.m. to the reported vehicle fire on Highway 97 near Southwest Monroe Lane, Deputy Chief of Operations Kasey Skaar said.

The truck was fully involved when crews arrived, but the driver had gotten out safely, he said.

The fire burned about a half-acre of grass and brush before it was put out. ODOT, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office and BLM assisted at the scene, Skaar said.

Later, firefighters were called out Wednesday evening to tackle a small, new brushfire that broke out southeast of Alfalfa.

Incident 366 was reported about 6:20 p.m., burning in brush and juniper on Prineville District BLM land, off milepost 25 on Millican Road, BLM Public Affairs Officer Kaitlyn Webb said.

Five engine crews, a hand crew and a water tender were called out to the fire, the cause of which was under investigation.

Thanks to that quick response, the blaze was stopped and encircled at 3 acres, Webb said. Crews stayed on scene securing containment lines and mopping up.

"It's starting to warm up, and the longer we go without the rain, all this grass is going to dry out," Webb said.