EUGENE, Ore. — A fast-moving wildfire near Cottage Grove destroyed a home and proved what fire officials have been saying for a couple of weeks — fire season has begun in Lane County.
The Dowens Fire began around 4:30 p.m. Friday and spread over 60 acres before sunset, said Marcus Kauffman, spokesman for the Oregon Department of Forestry. The fire destroyed one residence, a manufactured home, and immediately threatened five other structures all near Dowens Road, which runs north into woods off of Row River Road.
“It went up that mountain so quickly,” said Bryson Howard, who saw the smoke from a distance Friday afternoon and then hustled toward the fire to knock on doors, warning friends and family of the dangerous blaze.
Officials advised residents living in those structures to evacuate and the Lane County Sheriff’s Office issued evacuation warnings to homes along a five-mile stretch of Row River Road between Dowens Road and Shoreview Drive. The warnings were lifted around 9:45 p.m.
The Dowens Fire underscored the unusual conditions this month. It’s hot. It’s dry. It feels like July in Lane County.
So, despite the calendar reading May, firefighters are bracing for another long, busy fire season and warning the public to be careful when working or recreating in the woods.
Fire season typically begins in earnest in forests near Eugene and Springfield once a month has passed since the last soaking spring rain. That usually isn’t until June or July, said Eric Johnson, deputy fire staff officer for the Northwest Oregon Interagency Fire Organization in Eugene. But, as of Friday, it had been almost three weeks since a trace of rain was recorded at Eugene Airport on April 23.
“Think of it as July 9, not May 9, based on our dryness,” he said Thursday.
A sign of the dry times: The National Weather Service issued red-flag warnings on Thursday and Friday, alerts that conditions were prime for wildfire. The high temperature both days peaked above 80 degrees and Friday’s temperatures reached 83. Both days also had gusty winds and low humidity.
Red-flag warnings don’t typically occur in May for Western Oregon. “It is rare, for sure,” said David Bishop, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Portland, though occurrence data from the agency wasn’t immediately available.
The Lane Fire Defense Board and the Oregon Department of Forestry temporarily suspended outdoor burning season in Lane County on Thursday for at least a week due to high fire risk. The spring outdoor burning season typically stretches to mid-June and will resume if there’s a shift in the weather.
“We are way ahead of where we hope to be,” said Edward Hiatt, interagency fire staff officer for the Northwest Oregon Interagency Fire Organization.
The interagency organization guides firefighting on land overseen by the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management, such as the Willamette National Forest and a patchwork of public land in the foothills east and west of Eugene and Springfield. Its command hub includes the Eugene Interagency Communications Center, a combination call center and control tower for wildland firefighters in Northwest Oregon.
