Discarded cigarette spotted near Skinner Butte fire, officials say

Firefighters doused a fast-moving burn on a grassy hillside of Skinner Butte Monday, Aug. 17. 

About 25 personnel from Eugene Springfield Fire responded to the southwest side of Skinner Butte Park, not far from “the columns” rock climbing area, when smoke started rising around 12:30 p.m. As Chief Mike Caven made his way up the walking path behind the columns, he saw a freshly discarded cigarette.

“Not saying that that is the cause of this fire, but that just highlights the fact smoking is not allowed in our parks, and discarding smoking materials this time of year can destroy things that we highly value in our community,” Caven said during a press conference. 

The cause of the fire that blackened two acres isn’t known as of Monday. Crews put the fire out around 1:15 p.m. and continued mopping up through the afternoon — continuing to tend smoldering areas. 

“The thing with fires like this is you absolutely want to make sure that the area is cool to the touch,” said Caven, explaining that mop-up reduces the risk of wind fanning any hotspots and reigniting a fire.

Monday’s humidity was on the responders’ side, Caven said, as were cloudy skies and calm winds. Also what helped them get a handle on the fire: maintenance work done by Eugene Parks and Open Space to keep fires from getting into the tree canopy. 

“That gave us a chance without any significant potential fire spread or embers being cast and starting new fires in the neighborhood or on the other side of the butte,” he said. 

But when the fire ignited, tall, fine grass sent up a plume of smoke, which lofted into downtown Eugene.

Mason Laseter saw it on her walk to the river when she received an emergency alert that went out to residents’ cellphones: “There is a fire on Skinner Butte. If you are on Skinner Butte, evacuate. Avoid the area.”

She rerouted, catching a glimpse of firefighters. 

“It seems like they got it contained pretty quick, because walking over there, I got the alert, and five minutes later all I could see was tiny flames on the ground,” she said. 

Joe Harrison, a co-owner of Farmers Union Coffee Roasters, on Fifth Avenue not far from the butte, was in the shop’s basement when he received the emergency alert.

Harrison came up from the basement to check in with staff members, a few of whom left after receiving the alert.

Farmers Union has fire safety plans in place for the roaster and kitchen areas — typical and necessary restaurant protocol. Amid the Skinner Butte blaze, Harrison said he plans to discuss a wildfire plan with Farmers Union’s safety committee.

“It’s not often that I’m considering what happens when the fire is coming from the outside,” Harrison said, looking toward the smoke. “But I’m going to think about it now.”

The fire at Skinner Butte is the latest of a string of grass fires that Eugene Springfield Fire has rushed to extinguish over the last eight days. The department extinguished a fast-moving fire sparked by construction work in east Springfield on Aug. 12. 

These are resource-heavy operations, Caven said. And as firefighters do their job, Caven asked that people stay alert and responsible. Places like Skinner Butte are ecosystems that can catch fire easily. It’s why Eugene closed the summit to vehicle traffic earlier June 2. 

“We were forecasted to experience an above-average season starting in August. We are starting to see larger, fast-moving fires,” he said. “(The firefighters) continue to jump on these fires quickly, aggressively, and protect our community, and they will at all costs.”

Lookout Eugene-Springfield reporters Ashli Blow, Jaime Adame, Leo Heffron, Taylor Goebel, and Leo Brown contributed to this report.