Fire destroys Crooked River Ranch garage
A busy day for Crooked River Ranch Fire and Rescue continued into the cold overnight hours Tuesday as crews fought a blaze that destroyed a detached garage but kept it from reaching a nearby home. It was the department’s second major fire in 12 hours.
Homeowner Sue Miller said she saw a glow through her bedroom window and looked out to see her chicken coop and garage on fire, said Assistant Fire Chief Sean Hartley. She and her daughter were able to move several vehicles away from the burning garage after calling 911 shortly before 11:30 p.m.
Firefighters arrived at the fire at 15240 SW Quail Road to find the 1,300-square-foot wood-frame garage fully ablaze, with fire threatening the nearby home. Hartley said.
It took crews over an hour to bring the fire under control, and they remained on scene overnight mopping up, Hartley said, adding that temperatures which dropped into the teens did not hamper firefighting efforts.
The garage and contents were a total loss, estimated at $100,000. The cause of the fire is undetermined, pending further investigation, Hartley said.
While the residents were unhurt, some chickens perished in the blaze, Harley said.
CRR Fire & Rescue was assisted at the scene by Redmond Fire & Rescue, Jefferson County Fire District No. 1 and the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office.
Tuesday afternoon, a fire heavily damaged a home in CRR, but the resident who smelled smoke closed the bedroom door before she fled uninjured, limiting its spread, officials said.
The fire department got the call at 1:43 p.m. of a structure fire at 9527 SW Geneva View Road, on the Jefferson County side of the subdivision, Hartley said.
A resident smelled smoke and went to investigate, finding the bedroom ablaze. Hartley said the woman likely slowed the spread of the fire by closing the bedroom door before fleeing and calling 911.
Crews arrived to find smoke coming from the front door and a side window of the home. They confirmed the woman who got out was the only person home at the time.
Firefighters had the fire under control within 30 minutes, Hartley said. They confined the fire to the bedroom, but the rest of the home, which had working smoke alarms, sustained smoke damage.
The house is not habitable, Hartley said, and residents have made arrangements to stay elsewhere. Damages are estimated at $30,000 to $40,000 for the structure and contents.
The fire’s cause was determined to be a portable heater that was too close to a bed – a timely safety reminder as the weather turns colder.
“It’s important to remember that space heaters can easily ignite combustibles,” said Fire Chief Harry Ward. “Homeowners should follow the manufacturer’s directions on how far to place heaters from combustible materials.
Crooked River Ranch Fire & Rescue was assisted by the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, Redmond Fire and Rescue and Cloverdale Fire District.
