At 3:30 PM, Portland Fire and Gresham Fire were dispatched to a report of grass on fire on the north side of Powell Butte.  Upon arriving, fire crews noted that there were two separate fires burning in the park.  The first fire was approximately 50' x 75'and three employees of a contracted construction company had already been putting water on the fire, helping to contain it.  

"The second fire was up the road and then 300' up the hillside," said Battalion Chief Craig Funk of Portland Fire.  "We had to use Brush Unit 29 (Powellhurst) to get to the fire and then replenish the Brush Unit's water supply off of the fire engines."  

The two fires were declared under control at 4:20 PM.  At the time of this press release, crews remain at the scene, ensuring that the hot spots are out.  The cause of the fires is under investigation.

Fire response consisted of:
3 Engines
1 Brush Unit
3 Chief Officers
1 Investigator

Because of the difficulty in accessing brush or wildland fires, Portland Fires & Rescue has four Brush Units, strategically placed around the city near the wildland interface areas.  A Brush Unit is a 4-wheel drive pickup truck with a modified bed.  The Brush Units are able to access terrain and go into places that aren't possible for a fire engine to reach.  They carry specialized wildland firefighting equipment and are equipped with a 250-gallon water tank and pump. 

Contact:  Lt. Joseph Troncoso, PIO

Media Pager:  503-940-6003