Redmond police search for driver who fired illegal fireworks mortar, sparking 4,000-square-foot grass fire near BPA power lines

(Update: Third fire added, sparked by illegal fireworks; DCSO details on Terrebonne fire)

Third fire in the afternoon; homeowner reported for reckless burning; grill without ashtray causes second fire

REDMOND, Ore. (KTVZ) – The busy Fourth of July continued for the Redmond Fire Department early Thursday evening when a Ring doorbell camera caught a motorist stopping and firing an illegal firework mortar, starting a 4,000-square-foot grass fire beneath a Bonneville Power Administration power line and sending police searching for the culprit.

The first of two earlier fires, a grass fire in Terrebonne, resulted in a reckless burning charge from a resident who burned weeds more than a month after the fire season ended. A second fire broke out a short time later in the backyard of a duplex in southwest Redmond and was traced to a grill that did not have an ash tray underneath, igniting dry grass.

The third fire was reported shortly after 5 p.m. near Southwest Obsidian Avenue and 39.^th Street.

“One person drove up, set off an illegal firework, a mortar, set the grass on fire and then took off,” said Redmond Fire Chief Tom Mooney.

The resulting fire damaged some poles stored on the ground. Mooney said it burned about an acre near a single-family home construction site. He said the perpetrator could be charged with arson, depending on what police investigators find.

The first fire was reported shortly after 2 p.m. as a possible structure fire in the 5000 block of Northwest 10.^th Street in Terrebonne, sending up a tall plume of black smoke, possibly from a large ponderosa pine tree that was on fire, Mooney said.

When crews arrived, they found a fire in brush and grass that burned the corner of a home’s patio but did not cause major damage or reach two propane tanks. However, the fire spread from an acre to a neighboring property and burned a mobile home, Mooney said.

The fire was caused by someone burning cheatgrass. He was ticketed for reckless burning, a Class A misdemeanor that requires a court appearance and carries a maximum penalty of one year in jail and a $6,250 fine if convicted, authorities said.

Deschutes County Sheriff’s officials were also dispatched to the scene of the fire and were contacting neighbors to inform them of possible evacuations, Lt. Jayson Janes said.

Janes said the Redmond Fire Department told officials they had contacted the 57-year-old Terrebonne resident earlier in the day about the weed burning. The man stopped the burning, Janes said, but the grass later reignited, causing the fire to spread to a neighboring field.

The fire was declared under control shortly after 3 p.m. Another fire was reported 20 minutes later in the backyard of a Redmond duplex near the intersection of Southwest Umatilla Avenue and 25th.^th Street. Police responded quickly and used garden hoses to knock it over, Mooney said.

In this case, the cause was traced to a charcoal grill in the backyard that did not have a tray to catch the ash, which fell on dead grass and caught fire, the firefighter said.

Mooney and Janes both noted that outdoor burning was prohibited on June 1.^st.

“Debris burning includes burning with burn barrels, weed burners, burning fields, ditches and open piles,” Janes said. “It is always recommended to contact the fire station in your jurisdiction if you are considering burning.”

“It’s super hot and dry,” he said. “We’re not kidding – it’s hot, it’s dry, and if you intentionally set a fire, you’re probably going to get charged.”

“The ryegrass is knee-high and dry, primed and ready to go,” Mooney said. “It just needs a little spark to get it going.”