LAKE OSWEGO, Ore. — Wildfire season is already underway in eastern Oregon after the Hat Rock fire broke out near Hermiston on Tuesday. Wind quickly fanned the flames, and as of Wednesday afternoon it had grown to about 15,000 acres. As the fire spread, some homeowners were warned to evacuate.
“The state is doing a great job trying to position resources and we know we want to help other agencies when we can,” said Cassandra Ulven with Tualatin Valley Fire and Rescue.
Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek invoked the Emergency Conflagration Act in response to the wildfire, freeing up resources from around the state to respond. A crew from Clackamas County’s Tualatin Fire and Rescue was sent out on Tuesday.
The fires in eastern Oregon were the first of the season — including both the Hat Rock fire and the nearby Mount Hebron fire — but crews in the Portland metro area were covering a fire that quickly spread near Lake Oswego on Tuesday night off of Southwest Bergis Road. Jessica Nelson, who lives next door from where the fire started, was the one who called 911.
“It was a little scary — I didn’t want my house to burn down,” Nelson said.
Firefighters were on scene within 10 minutes and were able to quickly contain it, though at one point it did jump the road. Firefighters said they believe fireworks caused the fire to start.
Now after seeing a very warm May, a burn ban has been issued through the entire summer by Tualatin Valley Fire and Rescue, which covers all of their fire districts in Washington County.
Ullven said a combination of the warm weather we’ve been seeing and the low relative humidity made them to put the ban in place. She said there’s a chance the ban could stay in effect even longer, possibly into October — depending on what wildfire season is like in the metro area and across the state.
On Wednesday evening, another fire in The Dalles prompted more evacuation warnings and destroyed at least one home.