Emergency personnel respond to Morgan Lake Road for car fire

Isabella Crowley, The Observer, La Grande, Ore.
·1 min read

May 12—LA GRANDE — No one was hurt in an afternoon car fire on Morgan Lake Road on Friday, May 12, but the blaze rendered the car a total loss.

At 2:30 p.m. La Grande Rural Fire Department was dispatched to Morgan Lake Road above Woods Road for a vehicle that was smoking, according to Anthony Swales, a captain and EMT with the department. The car overheated while the driver was heading up to Morgan Lake, Swales said. The driver pulled over and the car caught fire.

Given the location of the car, Swales immediately requested mutual aid from the La Grande Fire Department because their fire station is centrally located and was closer to the scene.

It took approximately 12 minutes for crews to arrive at the fire and another 15 minutes to get it under control, according to Swales.

The road was closed to traffic until fire crews cleared the scene.

The area is under the jurisdiction of the Department of Forestry, Swales said. Logan McCrae, the Oregon Department of Forestry's La Grande Unit Forester, responded to the scene.

The Union County Sheriff's Office also provided assistance.

Isabella Crowley is a reporter for The Observer. Contact her at 541-624-6014 or icrowley@lagrandeobserver.com.