Update, 5:30 p.m.: The fire department has left the scene of the fire because a thunderstorm is approaching, FGF&R said.
They promised to return on Sunday morning, when the weather is forecast to be clear.
“We are preparing for more lightning-caused fires, but the rain will give us a significant boost,” FGF&R said.
The agency warned that fires could break out even when it rains.
Update 4:35 p.m.: The second fire is 90% extinguished, Forest Grove Fire & Rescue said. Crews from the Oregon Department of Forestry, South Fork Forest Camp and Stimson Lumber responded on foot to the fire, which was located on steep terrain nearly a mile from the nearest road.
“Unless wind and weather conditions change significantly, these fires will remain small. Emergency crews are closely monitoring storms in this direction and will need to retreat if lightning threatens them,” FGF&R said.
Update 3:15 p.m.: The outlook for two small forest fires in the region is good.
“We have really good humidity today,” FGF&R spokesman Dave Nemeyer said in an interview on Soda Springs Road, about a quarter mile below the Forest Grove town catchment area. “Conditions out here are pretty good for fighting fires for August.”
“The first fire has been 100 percent extinguished,” said Nemeyer.
The second fire, last estimated at 10 acres (43,000 m²) and much harder to reach, was fought by Oregon Department of Forestry crews and South Fork Forest Camp crews, Nemeyer said.
Although a helicopter had been requested, it was difficult to obtain air support due to numerous other fires burning throughout the state. At the moment, hand crews were en route and trying to get a bulldozer.
“Hopefully they can get (a helicopter) here in the last few hours of daylight,” Nemeyer said.
The exact location of the second fire was unknown. Crews were unsure if it was on the watershed property or on the adjacent Stimson property, Nemeyer said.
No residential buildings were endangered by the fires.
Nemeyer was monitoring the weather and said he hoped it would rain Saturday night to help firefighters.
2:40 p.m. Update: A passing ODF team member said the first fire was contained, according to a Soda Springs Road resident. That news was confirmed by Forest Grove Fire & Rescue, which described the first fire as “actively under control.”
According to FGF&R, there is currently no danger to the city’s drinking water.
2:15 p.m. Update:
The Oregon Department of Forestry is working to get a helicopter to fight the second wildfire, FGF&R spokesman Dave Nemeyer said. The fire is also 1/8 of an acre and is about 4,000 feet from a road in the city’s service area. “It requires extensive hose runs up and down hills, which can make the job really difficult,” Nemeyer said.
One plan being considered by Stimson Lumber logging crews is to build an emergency road using a bulldozer, but Nemeyer said that plan has not yet been decided.
Original story below:
Forest Grove Fire Department and Oregon Department of Forestry are on the scene of a wildfire in Gales Creek that is believed to have been sparked by a lightning strike near Soda Springs Road, the Forest Grove Fire Department said in a social media post early Saturday afternoon.
In a message to the Gales Creek Journal, FGF&R spokesman Dave Nemeyer said the size of the fire was estimated at 1 acre just before 1 p.m. and was raging in the Town of Forest Grove watershed on Clear Creek.
The Oregon Department of Forestry was on site with a ten-person prison crew from the South Fork Forest Camp and a fire truck to fight the fire.
“We are working with the Oregon Department of Forestry to gain access to the fire. Smoke is being generated and is visible from the Gales Creek area as well as the west side of Forest Grove,” FGF&R said.
It has now been confirmed that a second column of smoke is from a second fire, Nemeyer said, and ODF teams are trying to gain access to the source of the fire.
This is a developing story and will be updated as new information becomes available.
Chas Hundley is editor of the Gales Creek Journal and sister publications Banks Post and Salmonberry Magazine. He grew up in Gales Creek and has a cat.
