Firefighters knock down garage fire

Local firefighters battled hot temperatures as well as flames knocking down a structure fire east of town last week.

At about 1:20 p.m. on July 7, Cloverdale firefighters were dispatched to a reported structure fire on Highway 20 near Rabbitbrush Dr. Firefighters arrived to find a 1,500-square-foot wooden garage ablaze, with flames extending out of a side door.

With help from Sisters-Camp Sherman fire personnel, firefighters saved the building and a majority of its contents. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Firefighters endured 90-plus degree heat to fight the fire, and crews had to be rotated out to rest, cool off, and re-hydrate on a regular basis.

Cloverdale and Sisters-Camp Sherman fire crews were assisted at the scene by Oregon Department of Forestry, Deschutes County Sheriff, ODOT, and Central Electric Cooperative personnel. Crooked River Ranch Fire District personnel staffed the Cloverdale Fire District during this incident.

At about 1:55 p.m. while overhauling this fire, Sisters-Camp Sherman and Cloverdale fire personnel were dispatched to a brush fire near the end of Lake Drive, in Whychus Creek Canyon.

A Cloverdale crew left the scene of this fire to assist Sisters and ODF crews with the brush fire in the canyon. Cloverdale crews left the scene and were back in their station by 4 p.m.