Couple, dog escape burning RV west of Bend

T wo people and their dog woke up to their RV burning near Phil’s Trailhead west of Bend early Saturday morning and escaped the blaze that destroyed it and also sparked a small wildfire, officials said.

Bend firefighters responded shortly before 4 a.m. to the reported fire off Forest Service Road 4604, just over a mile from Skyliners Road, Captain Scott Wyman said.

Crews arrived to find a small RV engulfed in fire and about 1/8 of an acre of surrounding low brush, trees and pine litter burning, Wyman said.

The two occupants awakened to the RV burning and immediately evacuated with their pet dog.

Wyman said firefighters extinguished and lined the fire and transferred authority to the U.S. Forest Service for investigation. The cause of the fire was under investigation, he added.

The RV and its contents were a total loss, estimated at $60,000 to the RV and $5,000 worth of contents.

The local chapter of the American Red Cross sent disaster responders around 6 a.m. to help the two adults and their pet with immediate basic needs.