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A fire near the Hills Creek Reservoir in the Willamette National Forest — about 15 miles south of Oakridge — grew to 80 acres Wednesday, Aug. 26.
It sparked around 2:15 p.m. Oregon Hazard Lab detection cameras showed smoke billowing steadily throughout the afternoon until the early evening hours, when the plume started to taper off.
The U.S. Forest Service, which has primary jurisdiction over the land where the fire is burning, closed nearby Sand Prairie Campground. The agency asked the public to avoid the area and Forest Service Road 21.
Four aircraft, including helicopters, backed up workers on the ground, along with a bulldozer from the Oregon Department of Forestry and a Forest Service firefighting crew. As of 8 p.m., crews lined — using either hose or digging a shallow trench — about 90 percent of the fire, with the Middle Fork Willamette River serving as a natural barrier as part of its edge.
Forest Service law enforcement and the Lane County Sheriff’s Office are investigating the cause of the fire. Additionally, the Forest Service is coordinating with Sierra Pacific Industries as its timberlands neighbor the fire.
Wednesday’s fire torched grass in an area next to burn scars of the 2024 Coffee Pot Fire, which was within the larger South Willamette Complex. That complex lasted for weeks and burned more than 6,000 acres.
