Fire destroys motorhome in ‘Dirt World’ area of ​​homeless camp north of Bend and Juniper Ridge

The cause is under investigation.The crew left the scene before crews arrived.

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) – Bend Fire officials are investigating the cause of a fire that gutted a camper Saturday morning in the homeless encampment area north of Juniper Ridge, known as “Dirt World.”

Around 9 a.m., several people reported a large plume of smoke near milepost 131 on Highway 97, Bend Fire Chief and Investigator Jason Kamperman said.

Bend Fire dispatched engines and support vehicles, and Deschutes County Sheriff’s deputies also responded to find the camper fully engulfed in flames, he said.

Bend Fire Department extinguished the fire and began an investigation. Camperman said witnesses at the scene said the single occupant of the camper reported the fire but left the scene before first responders arrived.

Camperman said in a news release Saturday night that the fire remains under investigation.

This is the second fire in the general area in the past two days. An unoccupied 24-foot travel trailer caught fire Thursday morning on BLM property in the Juniper Ridge neighborhood, about 100 yards east of Highway 97, but was quickly extinguished by Bend Fire Rescue. The cause of the fire could not be determined.