Woman killed in Juniper Canyon house fire

Crook County investigators say smoker's carelessness likely cause

PRINEVILLE, Ore. (KTVZ) – A woman died Saturday night in a fire that heavily damaged her home in Juniper Canyon, south of Prineville, that investigators said likely was caused by careless smoking.

Crook County Fire & Rescue was dispatched around 9:40 p.m. to the report of a fire in a double-wide mobile home on Southeast Wintoon Road, with the woman reported to be still inside, Division Chief Russell Deboodt said.

The home was occupied by the one woman at the time of the fire, while two men who live on the property also were home at the time, Deboodt said. The men spotted the blaze, called 911 and used garden houses to put out most of the flames before the first crews arrived, he said.

Firefighters went inside and found heavy fire damage to the contents in the front half of the home, with significant heat and smoke damage throughout the rest of the home, Deboodt said.

Fire crews reached the heavily damaged living room, where the woman was reported to have been sleeping, and confirmed she had died. The woman’s name has not been released.

The fire cause was determined to be accidental.

“Through the investigation, it was determined the occupant had a history of smoking in bed and was on supplemental oxygen,” Deboodt said in a news release. “Evidence at the scene indicated that careless smoking was the most probable cause of the fire.”

The Crook County Sheriff’s Office assisted on scene, while Redmond Fire & Rescue provided an ambulance for station coverage. The Office of the State Fire Marshal and Oregon State Police assisted in the investigation.