Fires spark across county, two homes destroyed

On Monday, July 8 in the afternoon, multiple plumes of smoke erupted from the areas around Culver and Madras.

It began at about 12:45 p.m. with a fire that eventually destroyed a home and took over a field and vehicle near Jericho Lane east of U.S. Highway 97. No serious injuries occurred, but two people were transported for smoke inhalation. The house is reportedly a complete total loss.

While crews were still tackling the house fire on Jericho, multiple calls began to come in about brush fires along the railroad tracks from Metolius to Culver and south of Juniper Butte. A train, operated by BNSF, had passed through the area and likely threw sparks. Combined with extremely hot and dry conditions, the fires quickly grew.

Three brush fires were officially named incidents, with crews from Jefferson County Fire & EMS, as well as crews brought in from Warm Springs Fire and Safety, Crooked River Fire and Safety and Redmond Fire to stop the blazes. Air attack and a Central Oregon Fire Management Task Force also responded to the fires.

A brush fire on the far west end of Ford Lane grew to about two acres before it was stopped. Another along Feather Drive grew to an acre before it was halted. Both fires were caught within an hour of initial reports.

The largest of the three fires likely caused by the train was the Monroe fire, located on the southwest edge of Juniper Butte. That fire grew to about 15 acres before it was stopped, largely due to the intense heat and dryness and issues accessing the fire area.

Later in the evening, another smoke plume could be seen in town, as a house fire sprang up on SW Madison Street at the newly built senior living complex next to the community center. The cause of that fire is unknown, but one unit was significantly damaged by the fire. A GoFundMe for Nancy Switzler, the 74-year-old woman who had just recently moved into the unit, has been started and can be found at https://gofund.me/7ccb22dd.

The intensive fire day Monday came after a weekend of high fire activity. JCF&EMS responded to seven fires over the weekend, six of which were caused by firework use. Most remained small and contained to single areas, but a fire on the north side of Madras near Northeast Miller Street and Northeast Meadowlark Lane grew through high, dry grass and threated multiple structures. Two homes were briefly evacuated, but no structures were damaged in the fire.

“The weather really makes fire danger high,” said Jared Earnest, deputy chief of prevention for JCF&EMS. “We’re thankful we had an OSFM grant that gave us extra staffing, because we used it. We were able to attack fires fast because we had upstaffed and were ready.”

Earnest added that the fire danger continues to be extremely high over the coming days, with temperatures in the 100s. The fire district has closed all burning, including burn barrels for the next few days as fire danger grows alongside extreme heat and dry conditions.