New Bend brushfire prompts plea for info
Authorities are looking for anyone with information about a brushfire that broke out early Sunday morning along China Hat Road on Bend’s south end and was quickly put out by fire crews.
Firefighters were dispatched around 5:20 a.m., just before daybreak, to the blaze reported along China Hat Road between Knott Road and Highway 97, south of the Old Back 9 Golf Course, said Deputy Fire Marshal Dan Derlacki.
Crews arrived to find a slow-moving brushfire, about 30 by 30 feet, moving slowly in the duff and brush below several large pine trees on a large parcel of undeveloped property owned by J.L. Ward Construction Co., Derlacki said.
The fire was quickly extinguished, the fire official said, adding that the blaze posed no threat to homes or property.
Still, crews were checked the fire area during the day to be sure it did not reignite as temperatures warmed, Derlacki said.
The cause of the fire is undetermined at this time, he said.
Bend Fire and Rescue asked anyone with information about the fire to contact them at (541) 322-6309 or through Deschutes County dispatch’s non-emergency line, (541) 693-6911.
Derlacki also reminded everyone “that we are in extreme fire danger-level precautions. With the hot and dry days, a fire can quickly grow out of control. There are burning bans on most state and national forest areas currently.”
