Police have disconnected the electricity to a building in Frenchglen -- at the far end of the nature reserve -- to prevent militants from moving to a new place, according to sources close to the investigation.

Frenchglen residents said they saw police disconnecting power from the U.S. Bureau of Land Management Fire Guard Station, which is on the south end of the reserve. The fire station is about 40 miles from the headquarters, where members of the Bundy family and other militants have occupied buildings since Saturday.

Electricity remained on at the refuge, where protesters are using various buildings including the museum and the bunkhouse.

An operator at the Harney Electric Cooperative referred all calls to the Joint Information Center, where police and other officials have coordinated the response to the takeover.

The fire guard station includes five homes and a shop, where a pumper firetruck is stored. Though it's typically empty through the winter, the station fills with firefighters during the wildfire season from June to September.

John Witzel, whose Frenchglen ranch is next to the fire station, said he and other residents are concerned because they've been told water wasn't drained from the pipes or the firetruck before the power was turned off. Temperatures have regularly been below freezing there and he and others said such conditions could cause extensive damage.

"We watched them do it yesterday," he said Thursday afternoon. "That would be really destructive and would destroy the pipes, the water heaters and the pumps."

Bureau of Land Management representatives didn't immediately return calls seeking comment.

-- Laura Gunderson

@lgunderson; 503-221-8378