Wildfire near Goshen triggers evacuation notices

Updated at 9 a.m. Thursday, with evacuation levels in affected areas being lowered.

A wildfire near Goshen prompted evacuation notices Wednesday, Aug. 20, in an area southeast of Eugene, but the notices were downgraded hours later as firefighters made progress on the 3.5-acre blaze.

First responders raced to the area after a plume of smoke was reported rising from a small patch of forest at around 5 p.m. Wednesday on the west side of Interstate 5, south of Lane Community College and Suzanne Arlie Park.

The Lane County Sheriff’s Office issued a Level 3 (“Go Now!”) evacuation notice from Hideaway Hills to the power lines east of Skyhawk Way from Hampton Road south to Dillard Road. The office concurrently issued a Level 2 (“Be Ready”) for the neighborhood between Dillard Road, Hidden Meadows Drive, Skyhawk Way and Ridge Top Drive.

As evening fell in the area, officials dialed back both of the notices to Level 1 status.

Door-to-door evacuations

As Pleasant Hill Goshen Fire & Rescue and the Oregon Department of Forestry responded to the fire, deputies and other law enforcement officers went door-to-door to alert residents of the wildfire and the evacuation notices, said Sgt. Tim Wallace of the sheriff’s office.

“It’s very important to have people in person knocking on doors,” Wallace said. Such contact gives officers an opportunity to see if residents have special needs, such as a medical condition or livestock that need to be transported.

In fact, a truck hauling a trailer loaded with livestock was seen leaving the area at about 6:30 p.m.

Despite the door-to-door contact, Wallace still urged residents to sign up for emergency alerts through Lane Alerts at this website.

Wallace said the area that had been under the Level 3 evacuation alert is sparsely populated, while the area in the Level 2 alert is “a bit more densely populated.” He said a “small” number of people evacuated, but he didn’t have an exact number Wednesday evening.

At least some of the people who hauled livestock out of the area headed to the rodeo grounds in Cottage Grove, where they quickly unloaded their animals. Some said they needed to head back to gather more horses. One person hauled three goats to the rodeo grounds in a van.

The cause of the fire is unknown.

Deputies assisted fire agencies with thermal drones “to really get an idea of where exactly the fire is moving.” The fire was burning in what he called a “pretty heavily forested area.”

Red flag warning

Wallace noted that the National Weather Service had issued a red flag warning for fire for the southern Willamette Valley, including Eugene and Springfield, from Thursday afternoon through the evening.

“So there’s certainly a lot of concern about the spread of fire, especially depending on what the wind does,” he said.

The weather service said to expect strong winds, low humidity and high temperatures — textbook factors for fast-spreading, extreme fires. 

The warning covers an area in drought, where a rainy winter fueled the growth of tall, dense grass and shrubs that have since dried out. Recent rain wasn’t enough to offset the conditions, and low humidity continues to strip away remaining moisture.

Under these conditions, even routine activities carry risk.

Ashli Blow and Mike McInally contributed to this report.