Firefighters stop SE Prineville blaze, spare homes

Crook County firefighters stopped a wind-fanned grass fire on a southeast Prineville hill that threatened several homes Wednesday evening, an official said.

Crook County Fire and Rescue was dispatched shortly before 5 p.m. to the fire on a hill behind Southeast Willowdale Drive, said Fire Chief Matt Smith,

Engine crews arrived to find the flames being pushed by the wind and threatening several homes, Smith said.

Four Crook County engine crews and a water tender, along with Oregon Department of Forestry and Forest Service resources, were able to hold the fire to seven acres, with no structures lost and no injuries reported.

Smith said the fire was caused by an illegal open burn pile that got out of control in the wind.