3:08 p.m. update: Forest Grove Fire & Rescue Public Information Officer Matt Johnston said that the cause of the fire was not being released yet.
Agencies that responded to the fire in addition to FGF&R were Banks Fire District, Cornelius Fire Department, Hillsboro Fire & Rescue, Gaston Fire District, Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue, the Oregon Department of Forestry, the Oregon State Fire Marshal, and the Yamhill Fire Protection District.
ODF and OSFM provided command support during the fire.
Two area residents also aided firefighters with heavy equipment, Johnston said.
2:38 p.m. update: The 3-alarm brush fire has been mostly extinguished, Forest Grove Fire & Rescue said. The agency estimated that the fire had reached about 5 acres in size before it was halted. Much of the fire was burning in what the agency described as medium fuels like scotch broom.
2:24 p.m. update: There are no threats of evacuations from this fire, Forest Grove Fire & Rescue Public Information Officer Matt Johnston said in a message to the Gales Creek Journal.
Original story:
A brush fire burning near Shearer Hill Road near the Hillside community has sent a column of smoke into the sky visible as far away as Buxton.
Little information was immediately available on the size and outlook of the fire.
Messages to Forest Grove Fire & Rescue were not immediately returned.
A photo from a wildfire camera located north of Buxton showed smoke on the horizon from the brush fire.
Less than two hours before the fire, Forest Grove Fire & Rescue, which provides fire services in the area, reminded their constituents that outdoor burning was still banned due to ongoing fire danger.
“As we stated last week, the burn ban is still in effect for Washington County, and will likely be lifted in the middle of October. The decision to lift the burn ban will be dependent on weather conditions,” FGF&R said in a social media post.
This is a developing story and will be updated as soon as more information is confirmed.
Chas Hundley is the editor of the Gales Creek Journal and sister news publications the Banks Post and the Salmonberry Magazine. He grew up in Gales Creek and has a cat.
