Person dies in Juniper Acres travel trailer fire, explosion

Autopsy planned to confirm ID, help determine cause of death

ALFALFA, Ore. (KTVZ) -- A person was found dead Sunday morning in a travel trailer destroyed by a fire and explosion in the off-the-grid Juniper Acres subdivision east of Alfalfa, Crook County Sheriff John Gautney said Monday.

Deputies were dispatched shortly after 9 a.m. to the 2400 block of Southeast Beech Lane for a welfare check on someone at a travel trailer on the property, Gautney said. While en route, the deputies were told the trailer was on fire, followed by a report of an explosion.

When deputies arrived, they found a travel trailer being used as a residence had been totally consumed by the fire, Gautney said.

Several neighbors were on scene and had moved a vehicle away from the blaze while also assisting family members who had arrived there. The family member had not been at the home at the time of the fire.

Deputies were able to determine a person died in the fire. The sheriff said a death investigation continued Monday to determine the cause of the fire and subsequent explosion.

The person who died has been tentatively identified, Gautney said, but has not yet been positively identified.

District Attorney Wade Whiting has ordered an autopsy to help determine the cause of death and positively identify the victim. Gautney said they are working to schedule the autopsy with the State Medical Examiner’s Office, near Portland.

The sheriff’s office also was assisted at the scene by Crook County Fire and Rescue, an Oregon State Police fire investigator and the county deputy medical examiner.

More information will be released later as the investigation continues.