La Pine motor home fire costs couple possessions

The American Red Cross and others are assisting a La Pine couple whose motor home and all of their possessions were destroyed in a fire Saturday night at the Wickiup Junction gas station, officials said.

A La Pine Rural Fire Protection District engine crew and a duty officer responded around 8:20 p.m. to the reported fire at the gas station, located at Burgess Road and Highway 97, Captain Fred Franklin said.

Crews arrived to find the RV in the parking area fully ablaze and fire extending to nearby trees and a wooden fence, Franklin said. Crews quickly put out the fire, then spent nearly 90 minutes overhauling the smoldering remains.

The couple said they had owned the motor home since July but had been having trouble keeping it running, Franklin said. They were previously staying in it parked at Gordy’s Truck Stop in La Pine but recently had it towed to Wickiup Junction, where they had been working to repair the vehicle.

They had been trying to get the motor home started when the fire broke out in the engine compartment and extended to the passenger area, Franklin said. The owners and a gas station worker tried to put out the flames with several fire extinguishers but were unsuccessful.

No one was injured, Franklin said, but the owners said the motor home wasn’t insured, all of their belongings were inside it and they had no other available housing.

Deschutes County sheriff’s deputies assisted the couple to the Calvary Chapel Warming Center.

The American Red Cross said disaster responders provided resources to help address their immediate basic needs such as temporary housing, food, clothing, comfort kits with toiletry items, information about recovery services, and health and mental health services.