BEND, Ore. – A southbound BNSF freight train traveled at least 20 miles with its rear locomotive on fire Friday night, dropping debris along the way, until it came to a stop near Deschutes Junction north of Bend, where firefighters spent nearly three hours extinguishing the blaze.

“Somebody saw this train on the move up in Terrebonne with fire or smoke coming out of it” shortly after 9 p.m., Bend Fire & Rescue Duty Battalion Chief Darren Root told the Bugle on Saturday. “By the time they got the train stopped, they had one of their locomotives on fire.”

“It was dropping debris as it rolled down the tracks,” the fire official said. ”They had a lot of fire, but it takes miles for trains to stop.”

The train came to a halt on the tracks by Deschutes Pleasant Ridge Road, midway between Redmond and Bend.

“The locomotive was on the rear, but there was a lot of concern with hazardous material” in some of the cars, Root said.

As a result, fire crews had the burning locomotive unhooked from the rest of the train, to reduce the risk of spreading flames. There were no injuries, evacuations or shelter in place advisories issued for nearby residents.

Firefighters had some access issues, in part due to rain-softened ground, Root said, adding that “these types of incidents require a lot of personnel.”

He said crews also were challenged by no fire hydrants in the area. “We had to bring in mutual-aid water from Redmond Fire,” Root said.

The fire was contained by about 11:30 p.m. and crews were leaving the scene around midnight. Root said there was no damage reported to the other cars or tracks in the area, so the damaged locomotive was reattached to the train before it continued its trip south.

The Bugle has reached out to BNSF Railway media representatives but had not heard back by Saturday afternoon.