Third fire of year in homeless area east of Redmond

The third fire of 2018 in an area populated mostly by homeless people east of Redmond broke out early Wednesday morning.

The area has no electrical power for heating or stoves. It still gets cold at night in April, and people have to keep warm and cook food. So those living on the land have to use propane or an open flame.

That makes fires a lot more likely, especially with plenty of brush around.

“Individuals who find themselves living in the land east of town are using open flame, propane or kerosene fuel, and as a result, accidents happen, unfortunately, more often than they do elsewhere,” Redmond Police Lt. Curtis Chambers said Wednesday.

A fire official it’s not uncommon to see fires like this at this time of year.

“This is pretty typical of what we see, because these people are trying to stay warm. They’re trying to do whatever they can to survive,” Deputy Fire Marshal Clara Butler said. “If you don’t respect that open flame, that heat source, then you can get a fire off it, if that’s what’s causing it.”

Because it’s so remote and unorganized east of town, it’s tough for officials to get a read on what actually causes the fires.

“We don’t have an address,” Butler said. “We get directions that can lead us sometimes (to the fire site), but a lot of times, the fire crews are following smoke, and by the time we get there, the fire’s completely out.”