Bend Fire & Rescue extinguished a fire in the Deschutes River Woods neighborhood on Sunday evening after a resident accidentally ignited a kitchen fire while cooking. The resident and his dogs safely evacuated the home and no one was reported injured.

The fire ignited while the resident was preparing dinner and unintentionally left the stove on with a frying pan on the burner. The residual oil ignited, spreading up through the vent to the attic and roof.

The estimated cost of damage from the fire is $15,000, and the fire crews extinguished the flames before the fire could destroy the roof and attic.

The leading cause of home fires across the country is cooking incidents.

In the event of a fire, prioritize your safety by evacuating and ensure that anyone else in the home is doing the same, Bend Fire & Rescue recommends. If possible, turn off the stove and oven before evacuating, and close the door behind you to help combat the fire. Call 911 immediately, or if you try to extinguish a small grease fire, make sure others are evacuating and calling 911 on your behalf.

While cooking, keep a lid nearby to smother any fire by sliding it over the pan and turning off the stove top. Leave the pan covered until it cools completely. In the case of an oven fire, turn off the heat and keep the oven door closed.

The Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office is attempting to locate the owner of eight puppies allegedly abandoned in La Pine last week.

The puppies, believed to be seven to eight weeks old, were found in the area of Boundary Road and Camino De Oro Avenue in La Pine on Thursday. The sheriff’s office reports that a concerned citizen brought the puppies to the La Pine Animal Hospital.

The citizen who found the puppies reportedly saw a green Subaru — driven by a late 20s male with a female passenger — driving away from the area. The witness was not able to obtain the license plate of the Subaru.

Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Jason Wall said the good Samaritan was looking for hiking trails on public land west of the intersection when he discovered the puppies.

“The puppies appeared to have been let go, and they all came running out of the brush when the citizen was walking in the area,” said Wall.

The puppies were initially brought to the La Pine Animal Hospital and later transferred to the Humane Society of Central Oregon in Bend .

Lynne Ouchida, a spokesperson for Human Society of Central Oregon, said the puppies arrived thin and are being treated and evaluated. After the evaluation period, they can be spayed or neutered and then put up for adoption, depending on their health.

The dogs are pit bull mixes, said Ouchida. Five of the eight already have adoption interest, she said.

“When they become available for adoption, (people) will be able to interact with them,” said Ouchida. “We are hoping sometime later this week they will be given the green light.

Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office is requesting assistance from the public in contacting the owner of the vehicle or the puppies. Anyone with information related to this case may contact Deschutes County 911 Dispatch Center’s non-emergency line at 541-693-6911. The case number is 24-7083.

Crook County Judge Seth Crawford, the highest-ranking county official, announced his intent to run for reelection Monday, seeking a third term in office.

Crawford, a Republican from Prineville, highlighted his determination in pushing back against pandemic-era restrictions and his success in matching state funding to build a new county justice center in his announcement Monday.

“I am running for County Judge to continue promoting Crook County, protecting Crook County values, and doing what I can, to make sure that this is a place that our children can call home, when they are ready to have families of their own,” Crawford said in his Monday announcement.

Crook County’s government — a county court — is made up of a county judge and two commissioners.

The county judge position, which takes on administrative responsibilities but isn’t required to have legal training, gets paid almost double what the other two commissioners make annually. The judge’s base salary is $136,000 while commissioners receive $71,000.

Crawford and the rest of the county court, are currently debating the details of a new form of government — a county commission. They took the first step earlier this month in moving toward hiring a county administrator, which means the responsibilities of the county judge may soon change.

“There is a lot of work left to do,” Crawford said in his announcement, “some of it, like repealing Measure 110 needs to happen at the State level. Other things, like preventing homelessness from spreading in our community, making sure we have good jobs and housing happens at home.”

One other person, Monty Kurtz of Powell Butte, has filed for the judge position. Kurtz is also running as a Republican, according to his candidate filing.