3-level deck fire near Redmond blamed on smoker

Three levels of a deck behind a home northwest of Redmond caught fire early Sunday in a fire blamed on smoker’s carelessness, but fire crews challenged by steep terrain kept it from entering the home, officials said.

Firefighters were called around 1:30 a.m. to the reported fire in the 3200 block of Northwest Lynch Way, Redmond Fire Battalion Chief Jeff Puller said. They arrived and found three levels of an exterior wood deck burning on the back side of the house, Puller said.

Puller said access to the decks was very difficult, as the house was built on a steep cliff, with rock outcroppings.

A dozen career firefighters and two volunteers were called out, using three engines and a water tender. The Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office provided mutual-aid assistance.

The fire caused an estimated $7,000 damage but no injuries. Puller said an investigation determined it was caused by an improperly extinguished cigarette that was put in a plastic flower pot sitting on the upper-level deck, Puller said.