Fire destroyed two houses in the Sweet Home area over the past week.
The fires were at 1073 Pleasant Valley Road and 28686 Liberty Road.
Firefighters responded to the Liberty fire as a smoke investigation at 1:07 p.m. Monday.
Fire Chief Dave Barringer said the responding firefighters could see the column of black smoke from the but had difficulty locating the correct driveway. The A-frame house was located up a long driveway in the area of Sweet Home Charter School.
Based on an investigation, the fire apparently started in a plastic barrel next to a meat smoker in a carport that had been in use the night before, Barringer said. Wood chips were taken from the smoker and put in the barrel with what the occupants had believed was dirt. It turned out to be flammable material, like dried moss.
“It got hot enough today to get those chips going again,” Barringer said. The barrel caught fire and then spread into the carport and structure from there.
The house was owned by Liberty Rock. The tenant was Gary Sevier and family members.
A rough estimate on the value of the loss was $175,000 and $50,000 for the contents, Barringer said. Sweet Home Fire and Ambulance District responded with seven pieces of apparatus and about 16 firefighters. The Oregon Department of Forestry responded with five pieces of apparatus and 10 firefighters, and Cascade Timber Consulting provided a tender.
Firefighters responded to the Pleasant Valley fire at about 6:40 p.m.
The fire started in a grill, Barringer said. The grill had been used and shut down, but a grease fire continued to burn inside it. The fire ignited vinyl siding and spread into the home.
The occupants of the home were inside and unaware of the fire until a neighbor reportedly told them the house was on fire, Barringe said. One occupant pulled the grill away from the house. That person was taken by medics to Samaritan Lebanon Community Hospital.
The house was owned and occupied by Ronald and Susan Turner.
A rough estimate of the loss was $175,000 for the home and $75,000 for the contents, Barringer said. The residents were able to salvage some sentimental items and important paperwork from the ends of the home, Barringer said.
“Help the Turner Family” is set up as a fund-raising page at gofundme.com. The donations will pay for bathroom supplies, bedding, clothes kitchen wares and other household items. As of Monday, the page had raised $700.
The SHFAD responded with six vehicles and 12 firefighters. Brownsville Fire District provided a water tender, and Lebanon Fire District provided an engine and a duty officer.
Following their response to the fire in Liberty on Monday, SHFAD responded to a motorcycle crash near milepost 20 of Quartzville Drive at 2:40 p.m. and a reported fire in the 28700 block of Pleasant Valley Drive.
The fire turned out to be a smoldering log in the South Santiam River, Barringer said.
Following the report of the fire in the Liberty area, medics responded to three medical calls and a call for lift assistance through about 8 p.m.
SHFAD also sent a crew to a major vegetation fire in the Lebanon Fire District at 6:44 p.m. in the 38800 block of Mt. Hope Drive.