A Bend man was arrested for reckless burning after a fire in a transient camp Sunday afternoon.
The fire happened on Nels Anderson Road near the Sonic Drive-in on the north end of Bend.
The Bend Police Department said officers arrived to find David Carroll Hickman, 51, smoking a cigarette near the fire. The fire could be seen from the street and was burning a fence along the property and the landscaping nearby.
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Police said multiple cigarette butts were found near the fire and near Hickman’s belongings along the fence line.
A witness also allegedly saw Hickman smoking near where the fire started and talked to him about throwing cigarettes on the ground in the hot and dry conditions.
Hickman was arrested and taken to the Deschutes County Jail and later charged with reckless burning. Police said he also had an active misdemeanor warrant.
According to Deschutes County Circuit Court documents, the fencing burned belongs to TDS — the parent company of Central Oregon Daily News.
