Today at 12:43pm, Forest Grove Firefighters were dispatched to a reported field fire in the 6600 block of NW Kansas City Road in rural Washington County. While crews were responding a column of smoke was observed in the distance, prompting the chief officer to upgrade the response to a full first alarm assignment. 10 minutes after being dispatched, fire crews arrived on scene to find a cut crimson clover field with two areas burning. Firefighters utilized 4 wheel drive apparatus to drive around the perimeter of the fire and extinguish the flames. It took firefighters approximately 10 minutes to extinguish the flames, and additional time spent looking for hot spots. Due to the quick stop of the flames, incident command was able to cancel additional responding resources.
Firefighters were successful in keeping the flames from spreading to unprocessed crop still laid out in a portion of the field.
It was found that the field caught fire by a neighbor burning debris on their property. Slightly windy conditions likely spread embers from the burn pile, into the nearby field. To prevent the burn pile from starting additional fires, crews completely extinguished the burn pile and made the area cool to the touch.
We want to remind everyone that Yesterday (July 1st) at 7am, Washington County fire departments enacted a burn ban. This is to include yard debris, agricultural and logging debris burning. With temperatures expected to reach 100 degrees this weekend, it is a good idea to wet down old burn piles in case there is pockets of heat still left in it.
Forest Grove Fire & Rescue was assisted on scene by Cornelius Fire Department and Banks Fire District.
Response Information:
Brush Rigs – 3
Water Tenders – 1
Chief Officers – 1
Total On-Scene Fire Personnel – 12
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