Fireball explodes as yurt burns in Sisters
A fire that destroyed a canvas yurt in Sisters exploded with a 10- to 15-foot fireball as Sisters-Camp Sherman firefighters arrived on scene Wednesday to control the blaze, officials said Thursday.
Fire district crews were dispatched around 3 p.m. to the reported brush fire in the 200 block of East Black Crater Avenue that quickly escalated to a grass fire with structural involvement, Public Information Officer Julie Spor said. The fireball erupted and was visible over the garage roof as the first units arrived.
They found a 25-foot diameter fire burning in debris on the ground and extending to a wooden fence on the property line, Spor said.
It was later determined the burning debris were the remnants of a 16-foot diameter canvas yurt and its contents. Spor said it’s believed the explosion and fireball resulted from an oil heater that over-pressurized when flames reached it. A nearby outdoor trampoline and two fence panels also burned.
The yurt owners said they were renting a manufactured home and detached garage on the property and that the yurt was mostly used to homeschool their six children.
The owner was outside and reported seeing the yurt on fire and called 911. The fire quickly engulfed the yurt and began to spread.
Firefighters quickly put out the fire and removed the fence panels and rails that had been on fire, reporting the blaze controlled within 10 minutes of being dispatched.
The cause of the fire is under investigation. Sisters-Camp Sherman responded with six firefighters and four units, assisted by another unit and firefighter from Cloverdale.
