Lebanon Fire District Battles 6 Acres Brush Fire (Photo) - 09/08/22
Lebanon, Ore.
Yesterday, September 7, 2022 at approximately 3:30 PM the Lebanon Fire District was dispatched to a large natural cover fire on Brewster Rd near the Grant St bridge. First responding crews found approximately 6 acres of mixed grass, brush, and tree fire as well as homeless encampments along the river. Upon arrival, the incident commander immediately struck a 2nd alarm request for additional support resources.
Within 10 minutes, the Lebanon Fire District was assisted by the Oregon Department of Forestry who brought a bulldozer to begin digging containment lines around the fire. Firefighters worked around the perimeter with hose lines and hand tools to suppress the fire.
A Mark-3 Fire Pumper was set up alongside the west of the fire, using the river as a water source for suppression while additional crews used hose lines off brush vehicles from the east.
At approximately 6:30 PM the fire was considered contained, and operations moved into the mop-up phase. One patient was transported to the Lebanon Hospital with minor smoke inhalation injuries, but no injuries were reported amongst firefighters.
The Lebanon Fire District responded with three staff vehicles, one engine with four personnel, one pumper tender with three personnel, one water tender with one personnel, one rehab unit with two personnel, and three volunteers who came in private vehicles. Additionally, we received support and mutual aid from Albany Fire Department with two engines and six personnel, Sweet Home Fire District with one heavy brush rig and three personnel, Scio Fire District with one water tender and one brush rig, Brownsville Fire District covered our city with one engine and Sweet Home Fire District also provided a medic unit for district coverage. The City of Lebanon Police Department, the Linn County Sheriff’s Office, and the Linn County Roads Department assisted with traffic and area control.
At this time, the fire scene does remain active, as crews will remain on scene to complete mop-up operations throughout the rest of today. There is a high likelihood that smoke will remain in the area for a while, but is not an immediate cause for concern. Two brush rigs, one water tender, and one fire engine and hand crew remain on scene.
The official cause of this fire remains under investigation.
The Lebanon Fire District would like to highlight the importance of following Linn County’s complete fire ban this weekend, as conditions are exceptionally dry, and winds are expected to pick up. We are grateful to our crews and our neighboring agencies who put such a quick stop to this fire that was far too close to home.
