Brush fire on Century Drive sparks power, Net outage

(Update: Fire held to 1/8 acre; cause undetermined; power restored)

Crews worked into Monday evening repairing internet and cable lines after a small brush fire along Century Drive in southwest Bend apparently sparked an outage affecting south Bend, Sunriver and La Pine, at the same time triggering a power outage that lasted several hours for some.

The brush fire prompted closure of Century Drive for a time Monday morning, until crews could extinguish it. A power outage hit the area around the same time, but officials were unable to determine the fire’s cause.

The fire was reported about 10:35 a.m. on the east side of Century Drive, sending smoke across the road and prompting its closure at Mammoth Drive, Deschutes County 911 dispatchers confirmed.

The road was reopened later as crews continued to mop up hot spots.

“It got up into the trees a little bit — that’s what makes it really dramatic, makes people really pay attention” said Bend Fire Battalion Chief Dave Howe.

“And the thing we need to pay attention to right now is, everything is really flammable,” Howe added. “And it’s only going to get worse.”

Howe said the slow-moving fire was held to about 1/8 of an acre within 10 minutes of the first crews’ arrival, including mutual aid support from the Forest Service.

An investigation could not determine the fire’s cause. Pacific Power spokesman Tom Gauntt noted the poles and equipment were not damaged by the fire, and that likely would not be the case if it was, for example, a blown transformer had sparked the blaze.

Some residents heard a loud pop or boom when the power went out, and Pacific Power’s outage page reported an outage began around that time affecting 293 customers. Power was restored to about half before noon, but the utility pushed back the time for full restoration of service to 174 others until 4 p.m. — and then again, to 5:30 p.m — and once more, to 7:30 p.m., by which time they had power restored.

“The fuse that blew was in an underground unit, so it made a big ‘pop,’ but any flash was contained,” Gauntt said.

Howe reminded all that the area is in extreme fire danger conditions, so it is critically important to control and monitor all potential ignition sources, from cigarettes to sparks from grinders, chain saws and vehicle catalytic converters.

“The grass and brush is exceptionally dry and receptive to ignition, so take extra care,” he said.

All debris burning in the city and Deschutes County Rural Fire Protection District #2 is prohibited during fire season, Howe said, and under extreme conditions, a citation will be issued on the first offense.