NE Bend wildfire, sparked by motor home’s hot exhaust, declared fully contained

(Update: 100% containment; flareups continue Monday)

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) – A wildfire on Bend’s northern outskirts that burned nearly 40 acres and prompted hundreds of evacuations late Saturday was declared fully contained Sunday night. Investigators say it was sparked by the hot engine exhaust of a motor home in contact with grass and brush.

Fire information officer Lisa Clark said Sunday night there's "still quite a few hot spots on the interior, so mop-up will continue for awhile."

Bend Fire Battalion Chief Trish Connolly said a man was camping on Deschutes County-owned land in the area when the fire began. The Class A motor home was destroyed by the blaze, a photo released by Bend Fire & Rescue made clear.

The Juniper Ridge Fire, reported shortly before 4 p.m. Saturday, sent up tall, black and gray smoke plumes as it burned through an auto wrecking yard and 24 vehicles, also threatening several mobile home parks and neighborhoods north of Cooley Road and east of Highway 97.

Connolly said 40 firefighters were on the lines Sunday, continuing to hold containment lines and extinguish hot spots.

More evacuation levels were reduced Sunday morning for areas near the 39-acre fire that threatened hundreds of homes in northeast Bend late Saturday. Fire crews working in “red flag warning” fire weather spent the day reinforcing containment lines and mopping up.

"But we're still getting flare-ups -- there's hot spots in there, so it's just keep mopping up and cleaning up," said Bill Boos, Bend Fire's deputy chief of operations. "We'll be here for a couple more days."

Indeed, crews were dousing some flare-ups on Monday that sent up light smoke from the fire scene.

While no homes were lost Saturday, things came very close for some residents, like Bill McLean, whose home escaped damage by less than 100 feet.

"I told them, 'I hope you can save my house -- I just moved in it,'" he said. "And as you can see, they did it! Thanks to the Bend Fire Department!"

The Level 3 (Go Now) evacuation notices were lifted at 8 a.m. Sunday for the Four Seasons Mobile Park and homes along Highway 97 north of Bend, including Beechcraft Lane, and replaced with Level 1 (Be Ready) pre-evacuation notices, according to Deschutes County sheriff’s Sgt. Nathan Garibay, the county’s emergency services manager.

“Residents are asked to remain vigilant and be prepared to leave if conditions worsen,” Garibay added.

The fast-spreading fire put up a large, black smoke plume from an auto wrecking yard, spreading toward nearby homes until an air and ground attack stopped it.

Bend Fire & Rescue was dispatched to the Juniper Ridge Fire shortly before 4 p.m. as the blaze, in 100-degree temperatures and gusty winds, spread into the city-owned, largely undeveloped Juniper Ridge area, threatening outbuildings and B&R Auto Wreckers, east of Highway 97, Connolly said.

Due to the fast-growing fire and potential for moving into neighborhoods, numerous mutual-aid resources were called up, including several strike teams and aircraft, she said.

An aggressive air attack was key in stopping forward progress of the fire by 7:15 p.m., Connolly said.

The fire,, caused no injuries, she said, but destroyed two outbuildings, and the large black smoke plume mainly was from about two-dozen cars burning at the wrecking yard.

Because they were burning for hours, residents in neighborhoods near the fire and affected by the smoke were advised to close their windows and doors overnight.

At 9:30 p.m. Saturday, the Deschutes County Sheriff's Office and Bend Police dropped the Level 3 evacuation notice for homes north of Cooley Road and east of Highway 97, as well as a Level 1 pre-evacuation alert for homes in the J.D. Estates subdivision.

However, the Level 3 notice stayed in effect for areas closer to the fire.

About 11 p.m., the sheriff's office reduced the Level 3 evacuations for the Juniper and Hilltop mobile home parks to a Level 1 pre-evacuation notice. Four Seasons Mobile Park and Beechcraft Lane remained at a Level 3 notice.

By 6 p.m., Deschutes County sheriff's deputies tweeted that Level 3 GO NOW evacuation notices had been issued for all homes north of Cooley Road and east of Highway 97. The Juniper, Hilltop and Four Seasons mobile home parks had been evacuated.

Level 1 (BE READY) pre-evacuation notices were issued for the J.D. Estates subdivision. An interactive map shows the area of the evacuation alerts. You can sign up for Deschutes County phone, text and email emergency alerts at this page.

The fire was moving through the B&R Auto Wreckers yard east of Highway 97 after jumping the BNSF railroad tracks and a major ground and air attack on the flames was under way.

About 7:30 p.m., fire officials said though forward progress of the fire had been stopped, it was still very hot in the interior. The large smoke plume had gotten considerably smaller, to the relief of many.

Large areas of homes on Bend's northeast end were put under a Level 2 (GET READY) evacuation notice -- and then a Level 3 (GO NOW) evacuation.

The American Red Cross at first set up a temporary evacuation site at Lava Ridge Elementary School on Cooley Road but later moved it to St. Francis of Assisi Church, 2450 NE 27th Street in Bend. People evacuated due to the wildfire and in need of assistance are encouraged to simply show up, as volunteers will provide information regarding support and assistance.

Highway 97 was closed between Cooley Road and Deschutes Market/Tumalo roads until about 10:30 p.m.. Follow traffic updates at our TripCheck page.

As always, animals also were a focus of evacuation, including horses, while three water-dropping helicopters tackled the advancing flames, guided by air attack planes circling the scene.

COVID-19 precautions meant the Red Cross set up sites to check in, but not to stay. A Red Cross official said hotel rooms would be made available, if folks couldn't return home.

"We have already established contact with hotels prior to the fire starting -- that was all established in the beginning of the season," said Nadine McCrindle, executive director of the Red Cross Cascades Region in Central and Eastern Oregon. "So we have been prepared for this event happening now for some time."

Milagros Aparicio of the Latino Community Association, was at the St. Frances of Assisi Church evacuation site and counted 35 evacuees from seven Latino households who were from the Juniper Mobile Home Park.

Jim Mills, who lives about a mile from Fort Thompson Lane, said he was having a meal around 3:30 p.m. when he and some neighbors noticed the fire burning across the highway, possibly from a car fire.

With only one way in or out of his neighborhood, he was concerned the fire could jump the highway. Mills said he's created defensible space around his home. but brought out some shovels, just in case he needed to battle the flames himself.

"We're pretty well-protected with green spaces around our house," he said. "We keep the tree trimmed up off the ground, and we've got two or three exits off the property, so we feel pretty safe back there."

Some of the residents who had to leave their homes went to the Lowe's parking lot on Highway 97, to watch and ait. Some said they'd been having a barbecue before the sudden order to flee.

"My son drove up from Madras, and he said, 'Hey, there's a lot of smoke coming., " Eugene Mendoza recalled. "We went outside, and we see all this smoke. I said, 'Holy crap!'

"So then we got in our cars to see what was going on. and we came back home -- and the smoke was getting blacker and blacker and bigger. People were panicking all over the neighborhood. They were yelling and hollering. So they knew it was going to get out of control."

Another evacuee, Robert Elmore, said: "We're in an area that is fire-prone. The weather we've had, you have to be somewhat prepared at all times, because it's tinder-dry out there, and things can go off like a firecracker."

Sandra Miller said: "It was scary. First of all, getting my parents out, which they live one house away from mine. So ran over there, got all of their medicine and said, 'Get out!' So they got my mom and dad's car, most important things."