A garage fire in northeast Bend tonight prompted the evacuation of nearly a half-dozen nearby homes.

The 6:30 p.m. fire near the end of NE Lesley Place, a cul-de-sac, spread to some pine trees and a fence, triggering the evacuation of five homes, said Jeff Blake, a battalion chief with the Bend Fire Department.

“That was strictly as precaution,” he said.

Firefighters snuffed the blaze after it leveled the garage and burned slightly into the 1,200 square-foot home and attic, Blake said. The fire caused an estimated $35,000 in damage, and its cause remains under investigation.

Smoke from the fire near Pilot Butte could be seen around the city.

Neighbors said they heard an explosion before seeing smoke and flames rise from the garage. Matt Armstrong, 26, who lives adjacent to the garage, said the blast rattled his home.

“It shook it enough that it felt like someone slammed our front door,” he said.

After going outside to investigate what caused the noise, Armstrong said he saw a plume of black smoke and flames coming from the garage. Armstrong said he and another neighbor kicked down the door of the house and checked inside to see whether any people or pets were trapped. It was smoky inside the house but he didn’t see any flames.

“I’m just glad no one was in the house,” he said.

Blake said it’s unclear what exploded, but it may have been aerosol cans in the burning garage.

“The garage is totally destroyed so I can’t really tell you what exploded,” he said. Investigators are looking to determine what exploded as well as what started the blaze.

— Dylan J. Darling