No Holiday: Fires Fought Near Bend, Terrebonne

The Fourth of July was no day off for Central Oregon firefighters, as they battled an escaped burn in a field east of Bend and a string of brushfires along Highway 97 north of Terrebonne, several hours before the big nighttime fireworks shows. The largest of those fires burned about 12 acres and sent smoke across the highway, forcing its closure for close to an hour, officials said.

Just after noon, an unattended slash-pile burn off Alfalfa Market Road quickly got out of control, spreading across a field of dry and green grass. But neighbors wielding a hose and shovel helped to knock it down before fire crews arrived.

“The fire today ran pretty fast – surprisingly,” said Bend fire Capt. Mike Baxter. “Over on the west side (of town), things are a little more greener.”

“People need to be real cautious,” despite the long, cool spring, Baxter said. “They’ve got a false sense of security, because it has been so wet. But as we saw here today, the fire took off and we almost didn’t catch it in time.”

Baxter also reminded everyone that the open burning season is closed. The cause of the fire and possible charges are under investigation, he said.

Then, around 3:30 p.m., came a report of four small, separate fires along a four-miles stretch of Highway 97, about five miles north of Terrebonne. One reporting party thought the fires, all of which ignited on the east side of the highway, could have been sparked by a vehicle with a mechanical problem shooting sparks into the dry roadside grass.

Jefferson County Rural Fire District Chief Jay Olson said the smallest roadside blaze, just north of the Rex Barber Veterans Bridge over the Crooked River, was put out by Redmond firefighters called in on mutual aid. At least one other blaze also was tackled at small size, he said.

The largest fire, to the north, burned across about 12 acres of BLM land between the northbound and southbound truck weigh stations, sending smoke across Highway 97 that prompted its closure for about an hour, Olson said.

Eight Jefferson County engines were assisted by two Oregon Department of Forestry units, three from BLM and a water-dropping helicopter, he said. The fire burned from Monroe Lane north to the northern weigh station, sending up flames visible for miles, including from nearby Crooked River Ranch.

No evacuations were needed, but it was a tough firefight involving the numerous agencies, the chief said. Jefferson County turned the fire over to the federal crews by around 6 p.m., having contained and knocked the fire down, Olson said.

Fuels in the area are ?real dry,? Olson said, and the fire was ?spreading pretty fast, torching a lot of juniper trees, which is always problematic for us — always throws a lot of embers? that spread the fire even farther.