Tractor Fire Spreads To Field (Photo) - 09/16/25
At 2:26pm on Tuesday September 16th, Forest Grove Fire & Rescue was dispatched to a field fire on NW Gales Creek Road, west of the intersection to Mystic Drive. Reports were that a field was on fire with possibly a tractor on fire as well. While responding, a chief officer upgraded the incident to a full response due to dry east winds that were impacting the region. When crews arrived, they found a tractor fully engulfed and over an acre of a cut wheat field actively threatening to cross Gales Creek Road towards nearby houses. The incident was upgraded to a 2nd Alarm Response to bring in additional resources as the fire continued to spread through the field. It took firefighters 20 minutes to stop the forward progress of the fire. Firefighters spent another 45 minutes extinguishing hot spots. To increase the perimeter containment on the burned area, a neighboring farmer brought in a equipment to create a dirt containment line around the perimeter.
A row of power lines had flames burn up to them, as a precaution we had Portland General Electric inspect the lines and found no damage. It is estimated the fire burned 7 acres of the field. Investigators spoke with the operator of the tractor who was using a flail mower implement behind the tractor to cut down the wheat stubble. While operating, they had alarms going off and found a fire in the back of the tractor near where the mower connects. They safely got out of the tractor and away from the flames, which quickly spread to the field. It is unknown at this time if the equipment had a malfunction or if a spark was created by the spinning mower. The tractor is a total lose.
During the incident, Gales Creek Road (Oregon Highway 8) was closed for the safety of firefighters.
Forest Grove Fire & Rescue was assisted on scene by Cornelius Fire Department, Banks Fire District, Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue, AMR, Washington County Sheriffs Office and Portland General Electric. We also thank the neighboring farmers for the use of their equipment.
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