PENDLETON â The fire started when a wire detached from a power pole, igniting the grass near Perkins Avenue and 17th Place in Pendleton on Wednesday, May 5. Then, the snapped wireâs electrical current met the ground behind the Red Lion Hotel, starting a second fire. Firefighters eventually contained the blaze, but Pendleton Fire Chief Jim Critchley said if conditions were even slightly drier, it may have been a different story. âWeâre lucky today because we still have some green in our grasses,â he said. âBut if this were to happen later on in the season, that would have caused a bigger problem.â