Gales Creek, Highway 6, wildfires

Morning update: Fire stopped near Glenwood, stop calling 911 for smoke

A sign at the Gales Creek Fire Station noting “Extreme” fire danger on Wednesday, September 9, 2002. Photo: Chas Hundley

As wildfires rage across Oregon for a third day, here are some quick updates.

— Fire danger is still extreme, and a red flag warning remains in effect until 8 p.m. today. IFPL remains at level 3.

— See smoke? Don’t call 911 unless you see fire as well. According to Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue, the Washington County Consolidated Communications Agency (WCCCA) dispatch center has been inundated with calls about smoke, tying up resources for real fires. There is smoke everywhere from local fires and fires elsewhere in the Pacific Northwest.

–If you have been impacted by a wildfire, the nearest Red Cross evacuation point is at Neil Armstrong Middle School in Forest Grove, located at 1777 Mountain View Ln, Forest Grove.

— The Chehalem Mountain-Bald Peak Wildfire has burned as much as 2,000 acres, according to TVF&R. It is neither contained nor under control, but crews say that there has been some progress made overnight.

ODOT and Banks Fire District vehicles at a small fire sparked by downed lines in Glenwood on Wednesday, September 9, 2020. Photo: Chas Hundley

— A fire caused by downed lines in Glenwood this morning was quickly stopped by passersby, Banks Fire District, and ODOT.

— A Hillside area brush fire less than 1/2 acre in size sparked by a tree falling into power lines was under control Tuesday evening. The tree was blocking NW Old Clapshaw Hill Road below Clapshaw Hill Road. No homes were threatened by the fire.

— Hillsboro Fire & Rescue says a good way to help is to limit travel during this emergency, give blood, donate to the Red Cross, and ready yourself for an emergency.

— The Powerline Fire south of Hagg Lake continues to burn; here is yesterday’s article about it in case you missed that. We should have an update later today with fresh information.

— In a statement from Forest Grove Fire & Rescue, the agency praised the sense of community pervading the emergency affecting us all. Here it is.

“We wanted to share an observation…in the last 36 hours our beloved state, and even parts of our own beautiful western Washington County, have been ravaged by wildfire. In response, people are coming together to support one another. No one is asking about your favorite presidential candidate first, what you think of wearing masks, or talking about what your opinion is of what’s happening in Portland before they help. Instead, they are hitching horse trailers to move livestock for their neighbors, they are opening their homes and barns, they are bringing treats to their closest firehouse, they are logging crews and heavy equipment operators showing up on fire lines because they heard on a scanner that firefighters needed help, they are cooking meals for those who need it, they are leaning on one another while breathing smoke under an eerie dark sky.”

More information about wildfires burning across the state can be found at the Oregon Office of Emergency Management here.

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Chas Hundley is the editor of the Gales Creek Journal and sister news publications the Banks Post and the Salmonberry Magazine. He grew up in Gales Creek and has a cat.

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