Wind-fanned fire destroys home west of Redmond
A two-story home was destroyed by a wind-fanned fire west of Redmond Sunday morning, but the owners were away at the time and there were no injuries, authorities said.
The fire was reported around 10:20 a.m. at a 25-year-old, 3,200-square-foot home at 1793 NW 57th Way, near the Deschutes River and north of Maple Avenue.
Redmond Fire Marshal Traci Cooper said arriving crews found the fire moving quickly through the home and garage, pushed by high winds.
Crews on arrival found “significant flames coming from the backside of the house, the canyon side of the house,” Cooper said.
“We did get information that a neighbor had heard possibly some animals inside, and broke out some windows to see if they could get a chance,” she said. Unfortunately, Cooper added, “that allowed some more oxygen into that fire, and at this point, with the winds we were having today, it’s just a really bad combination.”
They quickly established hose lines to stop the fire from spread to nearby structures, but the structure was a total loss, with building and contents valued at $450,000.
The cause of the fire was under investigation.
Neighbors said they heard an explosion, but officials said that was not believed to have caused the fire and could have been the gas barbecue grill.
More than 30 career and volunteer firefighters were called out, with mutual assistance provided by Bend, Crooked River Ranch and Cloverdale fire departments, Deschutes County sheriff’s deputies, Central Electric Cooperative and Oregon State Police.
Fire crews were called in to help either at the fire scene or cover the fire stations for Redmond crews.
County property tax records show the home is owned by residents Dane and Bonnie Straub and was built in 1988.
It was the continuation of a busy weekend for area fire crews, with two blazes in La Pine Saturday morning. Redmond crews also responded to a fire that destroyed a detached garage in Terrebonne on Saturday night — a fire blamed Sunday on oily deck staining rags. Later Sunday morning, crews doused a slow-moving grass fire at SW 43rd Street and Salmon Avenue.
