Tumalo garage goes up in flames; firefighters stop its spread
(Update: Adding video, fire official comments)
No injuries reported; cause under investigation
TUMALO, Ore. (KTVZ) -- A detached garage on Tumalo Road was destroyed by a fire Tuesday afternoon that sent up a black smoke plume and spread to adjacent trees and brush before crews stopped it.
Bend Fire & Rescue crews were dispatched around 2:45 p.m. to the reported structure fire in the 21000 block of Tumalo Road, west of Highway 97, Battalion Chief Trish Connolly said.
The arrived to find the detached two-car garage fully ablaze, with flames spreading to nearby trees and brush and threatening an RV, vehicles and a home.
Connolly said crews made an aggressive attack on the fire, holding it to the garage and preventing its spready to the vehicles or residence.
Mutual-aid assistance was called in from the Redmond and Cloverdale fire departments, as well as U.S. Forest Service crews.
Tumalo Road was closed until about 4:30 p.m. between 85th Street and Half Mile Lane.
The fire was controlled before 3:40 p.m. as crews continued to extinguish hot spots and check the area for any fire that may have spotted to nearby vegetation.
There were no injuries reported. The cause of the fire was under investigation.
Bend Deputy Fire Marshal Dan Derlacki said the return of hot, windy weather can make for more challenges, which is why teamwork with other agencies is so important in the initial effort to stop a fire.
"It's super hot and dry right now, and this is something we're really concerned about, with the grass and the bush that's around this structure," he said.
"So having those Forest Service crews to help us out, having those other departments come and bring in water supply in the area that doesn't have fire hydrants helps immensely, so we can put the water on that fire and put it out," Derlacki added.
