Residents unknown, location unknown, officials say

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — A kitchen fire at a homeless encampment on 13 acres of private property east of Highway 97 sparked the 78-acre Mile Marker 132 fire last Friday that threatened hundreds of homes on the north end of Bend, requiring evacuations and causing power outages before a major air and ground attack stopped the fire’s spread.

“The occupant of the camp is unknown and has not been located,” said a press release from Bend Fire & Rescue issued Wednesday morning, announcing new details about the fire and its cause.

Deschutes County property tax records show the 13-acre property, with an actual market value of nearly $500,000 and an assessed value of about $111,000, is owned by the Anna Morrison Spencer 1997 Trust of Las Vegas.

Here is the full press release from Bend Fire:

On Friday, August 2, 2024, at 2:28 p.m., Deschutes County Emergency Operations Center received initial calls reporting smoke from a property near milepost 132 on the east side of Highway 97. Bend Fire & Rescue first responders noted a visible column of smoke and dispatched additional resources due to the threat of extreme fire development during an extended period of hot and dry weather.

The fire eventually charred 78 acres before it was contained. Crews from throughout Deschutes County and Jefferson County assisted in the firefighting efforts. In addition, air and ground crews from the U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management and Oregon Department of Forestry also helped stop the fire’s spread.

Two firefighters from Lincoln County and Polk County, already stationed in the Redmond area by the Office of State Fire Marshal, were also dispatched to assist. Bend Police, Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office, Oregon State Police and Oregon Department of Transportation also responded to the incident.

The fire was located on a vacant 13-acre private property located at 64010 N. Hwy 97. There are no buildings on the property other than wood and wire fences. Upon investigation, it was determined that the cause of the fire was a cooking fire in a camp on the property. The occupant of the camp is unknown and has not been located.

Bend Fire & Rescue wants to remind the community that our fire danger is extreme right now. Natural causes of wildfires, such as lightning strikes, cannot be prevented, but human-caused wildfires can. According to the National Interagency Fire Center, human-caused wildfires account for 87 percent of all wildfires nationwide. The two main causes of human-caused wildfires in Oregon are burning debris and equipment use.

Protect your home and property from the threat of wildfires by taking simple steps to create a defensible zone around your home. For more information about the Own Your Zone program in Bend, visit https://www.bendoregon.gov/government/departments/fire-rescue/emergency-preparedness/own-your-zone. Bend Fire & Rescue offers free consultations on how to better protect your property against the threat of wildfires.