Escaped campfire sparks small brush fire in Bend river canyon
Bend Fire & Rescue warns of extreme fire danger
BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) –An escaped campfire in a transient camp area sparked a small brush fire Wednesday afternoon in the Deschutes River Canyon south of The Riverhouse Convention Center parking lot, a challenging blaze to access.
Bend Fire & Rescue crews responded around 12:45 p.m. to the reported fire off Rippling River Court and were able to make a quick stop on its forward progress, Battalion Chief Trish Connolly said.
The fire burned about 1/10 of an acre of brush and grass amid rocks at the bottom of the canyon, Connolly said. Three brush units put out the blaze, along with an Oregon Department of Forestry engine crew.
Connolly said crews would be on scene for some time, putting out smoldering vegetation, so smoke may be seen in the area for a few hours.
"Bend Fire & Rescue wants to remind our community we are in extreme fire danger currently," Connolly wrote in a news release. "Our fuels are dry and our temps are hot.
"Fires are anticipated to start quickly, spread furiously and burn intensely under these conditions. Burning violations can result in citations during extreme fire danger. We ask our community to be extremely cautious with warming fires during this time."
