Forest Grove firefighters assisted by citizens with farm equipment to put out brush fire

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Forest Grove firefighters battled a brush fire that started in a burn pile in Gales Creek Tuesday afternoon, authorities said.

At 1:41 p.m., firefighters arrived at the blaze in a cut wheat field in the 10000 block of Northwest Shearer Hill Road. The fire spread to thicker vegetation and soon escalated to a second-alarm, then third-alarm fire, officials said.

Firefighters said they prioritized stopping the forward movement of the fire and protecting nearby structures as it spread to harder-to-reach brush. They got the fire under control about an hour after first arriving.

No structures were damaged, no one was evacuated and no one was hurt.

The cause of the fire — which totaled four acres of field, brush and trees — was determined to be "a burn pile that spread due to dry, windy conditions," firefighters said.

In Washington County, a burn ban is in effect until at least October 15 and may be extended past that time "depending on weather conditions," officials said.

According to a Forest Grove Fire and Rescue release, "two community members assisted firefighters by using an excavator and tractor to help create a fire break around the fire." They thanked the community members and partnering fire departments for their assistance in extinguishing the fire.