We got lucky.
Following a fire that broke out on Aug. 2 in Juniper Ridge, which threatened homes and structures in north Bend, that was the sentiment echoed through recent meetings, as officials described the response to contain this potentially catastrophic fire.
The Mile Marker 132 Fire was first reported around 3pm and progressed quickly. The fire, which prompted immediate Level 3 "Go Now" evacuations for some neighborhoods, burned 78 acres before firefighters stopped the progression at about 8pm.
Five days after, Bend Fire and Rescue concluded its investigation of the fire and traced the cause to a cooking fire at an encampment on fenced private property in Juniper Ridge.
Several agencies worked together to put it out, yet many locals expressed the fear and panic they felt that Friday afternoon, and are looking to local officials to ensure that fire risk reduction can help prevent this situation from happening again.
"Imagine living in fear day and night," said Linda Cook, at an Aug. 7 City Council meeting, with tears in her eyes. Cook has lived on Deschutes Market Road for 29 years. "Please, please do something. Oregon is a beautiful state and it's burning up."
In response to the fire, Deschutes County and City of Bend officials have begun planning conversations around what needs to be done ahead of next fire season, to prevent this from happening again.
A fortunate fire response
On Aug. 7, council members heard a previously scheduled fire update from Bend Fire Chief Todd Riley, who discussed the response around this recent fire. During the meeting, Riley recalled the event, pointing to additional responders that the City was lucky to have nearby at the time.
"I feel fortunate that we had, not only up-staffed in Bend with an extra engine due to the Red Flag conditions, but there was also two task forces at our disposal, that were positioned in Redmond. That was just fortunate," he said.
With an increase in fire risk, hot temperatures, forecasted lightning and Red Flag Warnings at the time, the Oregon State Fire Marshal announced on Aug. 2 it would pre-position two structural task forces in Central Oregon, sending in 26 firefighters, eight engines and two water tenders.
The call to pre-position resources, which were scheduled to remain for about 72 hours, was to add capacity for the initial attack on any new fires.
"That was super fortunate, and we can't count on that always in the future," County Commissioner Phil Chang told the Source Weekly.
Planning for the future
Following the events of the fire, residents voiced their concerns with local officials at County and City meetings, calling for the need to prioritize safety for neighbors of Juniper Ridge. Many pointed to the need for a managed camp for the houseless individuals who occupy the area, to help prevent one of the causes of fires in our area.
"I was in a panic. Everything I have worked for my entire life is in my home, and once again it was threatened by fire due to the situation that nobody is addressing. Enough is enough," said Sherry Van Dyke at the City Council meeting, who lives about a mile from Juniper Ridge.
At that recent council meeting, the City discussed the possibility of creating a managed camp for people, but noted that it can't do it alone. A planned intergovernmental meeting with the City of Bend and Deschutes County will address a coordinated effort to better manage the area.
"Even though we didn't lose any structures, we are tremendously fortunate to end up where we did." —Todd Riley
tweet this
"I think we'll have a good conversation with the County Commission, cause I think we need to be taking some steps here and, especially by the time next fire season starts, I think it needs to be a lot different up there, and I think the community and council is going to agree on that," said Bend Mayor Melanie Kebler.
County Commissioner Patti Adair, who is a part of the regional council on homelessness, the Coordinated Houseless Response Office, expressed the need for more managed camps in the County and has advocated for help from the state to get something in place quicker and more efficiently.
"I would hope that the City and us, when we do meet, that we're all on the same side," said Adair. "We desperately need to do something. Things are very dry and very fragile and we've got to ensure that the 208,000 people that live in Deschutes County are safe."
Chang said he also looks forward to working with the City to address issues many residents are most concerned about. While he noted that unauthorized homeless encampments account for only a portion of wildfire risk in the community, he believes the region needs to continue creating pathways for people to exit homelessness.
For the region to do this, there must be a safe place with case management and supportive services.
"That's what I'm hoping will come out of this meeting — agreements on how we can create those pathways out of homelessness so that we can reduce the overall number of unauthorized encampments and unsheltered people," said Chang.
Efforts in motion
Aside from calls for a managed camp, the County and the City have begun working to help slow or contain the spread of wildfire in high-risk areas. On July 29, the County submitted an application for a grant which would supply $75,000 toward risk reduction treatments, due to the high potential of fire starts in Juniper Ridge.
The City also made plans to consider more reduction efforts, such as fire breaks and defensible space options, to help diminish the risk to homes. Matt Stuart, the City real estate director, who works in property and facility management, highlighted City efforts over the last few years to try to harden the area, focusing mostly on the south side of the City's Juniper Ridge parcel.
This year, the City will see what funding is available to come up with a plan to do more of this work ahead of the next fire season. Efforts to make homes and areas more resilient to fire, Chang said, are an extremely important part of planning ahead.
While the Mile Marker 132 Fire was a frightening event for many in the community, and continues to be, local leaders hope the plans to address more of these concerns, to help curtail fire starts and slow the spread, will help prevent a catastrophe in the future.
"It's not lost on us. Even though we didn't lose any structures, we are tremendously fortunate to end up where we did," said Riley.
