BEND, OR -- Oregon’s Department of Forestry is trying to identify two people who climbed up a fire-detection tower northwest of Bend. ODF-Central Oregon District’s Ben Duda says an operator was checking the camera on the Three Creek Butte tower at about 8 p.m. last Sunday, looking for a nice shot of the sunset, "She noticed a bare leg with Converse shoe attached to it, dangling in front of one of the cameras. And those cameras are - that particular tower is 60-feet."

Duda says authorized personnel are outfitted with helmets, gloves and cables to prevent falling, so going up without any of that gear is incredibly dangerous. "I cringe thinking that - That’s the first thing we did, when we noticed that people were on the camera. Our operators have the ability to go live and move the camera where they need to look at things. And the first thing we do is look down to see if, God forbid, there’s somebody laying at the bottom of the tower," he tells KBND News, "Fortunately, there was not in this case, but we definitely want to avoid that kind of tragedy at one of our sites."

It’s also trespassing, and the men could face criminal charges, "There’s a 6’-high chain link fence enclosure that those towers are in the middle of, with three strands of barbed wire running around the top. Our concern as well is, that’s such a critical piece of infrastructure for us; those cameras are used to detect new fire starts."

Duda says none of the equipment appears to have been damaged, "Apparently they were just looking for the sunset themselves and a nice view, and didn’t cause any damage other than some bent barbed wire. We’d really like to make sure they’re okay and they don’t have any cuts and bruises from their adventure."

The cameras are pre-programmed to constantly scan the area, taking a series of photos ODF uses to detect new wildfires, "They can be programmed to look down at the ground occasionally, so now we’re upping our security up there. Unfortunately, we’re taking some time away from the scanning for fires and now looking for our own safety and security of the site."

Duda says the sunset view from Three Creek Butte is just as good from the ground as it is on top of the tower.

 

 

UPDATE (7/23/24) -- The two people caught on camera climbing a fire detection tower outside of Bend came forward this week and turned themselves in. According to the Oregon Department of Forestry, the two appeared sincere in their apology to the agency. Authorities decided not to charge them with a crime, although they have been formally "trespassed," meaning if they appear at the site again, they can be arrested. They also received a warning about the danger they put themselves in, climbing a 60-foot tower without any safety equipment.