PORTLAND, Ore. — The westbound lanes of Highway 26 were shut down on Sunday afternoon after flames from a disabled vehicle spread to vegetation on the shoulder, prompting a response from Portland Fire & Rescue.
Fire officials said that they were called out for reports of a car fire just after 1:30 p.m. along the westbound lanes of U.S. 26. When fire crews arrived, they found that flames from the car had caught nearby dry grass ablaze, and the fire was spreading up a hillside toward Washington Park above.
"The call was upgraded to a 'wildland box' which added additional fire units to include two water tenders and two brush units," said Tremaine Clayton, assistant public information officer for PF&R. "An aerial apparatus was also used to get a better reach on the fire."
With engines and other equipment needed to knock down the growing grass fire, officials shut down the westbound lanes just outside of the Vista Ridge Tunnels.
Around 2:45 p.m., Clayton indicated that the fire was under control and officials were working with the Oregon Department of Transportation to reopen the highway. All westbound lanes were back open by roughly 3:15 p.m.
Firefighters were still checking for hot spots and determining the total size of the burn area. Clayton noted that a "wildland box" is usually ordered when a fire is larger than 100 square feet, though it would have been ordered based on a rough estimate.
The westbound lanes were entirely closed for more than an hour, but the fire also caused substantial slowdowns on the eastbound lanes entering Portland around the Oregon Zoo and beyond.
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