FlashAlert
Sweet Home Fire responded with our partners at the Oregon Department of Forestry to two separate brush fires today. Both fires were human-caused and thought to be unintentional. Due to the availability of resources from both agencies, the fires were quickly brought under control. The first fire was located at the old mill property at the end of 24th avenue in a section of extremely heavy brush. It appears to have started at an abandoned camp, possibly as the result of a smoldering camp fire. The second fire occurred on Liberty Road near Highway 20 in a mixture of dried grass, brush, and trees. The cause of that fire was incomplete extinguishment of an unauthorized burn pile. Today’s high temperatures, low relative humidity, and winds created red flag conditions which cause an increase in fire danger and the likelihood of rapid fire spread. We were fortunate to have 4 staffed engines from ODF who were able to respond immediately. In addition Sweet Home Fire was able to staff 3 engines and 2 water tenders for each call with a total of about 20 firefighters from both agencies at each fire. SHFAD’s increased staffing was made possible by grant funds from multiple grants including FEMA’s SAFER grant program, the Oregon State Fire Marshall’s Seasonal Staffing Grant and Community Wildfire Risk Reduction grant.
If photo is available it can be found here
Firefighters Respond to Two Human-Caused Brush Fires in Sweet Home (Photo)
