Grass fire at Eugene's Alton Baker Park quickly brought under control

Zach Urness, Salem Statesman Journal
·1 min read
Fire crews mop up a brush fire on the east end of Alton Baker Park near the Knickerbocker Bike Bridge and Interstate 5 on Aug. 25 in Eugene.
Fire crews mop up a brush fire on the east end of Alton Baker Park near the Knickerbocker Bike Bridge and Interstate 5 on Aug. 25 in Eugene.

A 2-acre grass fire at Alton Baker Park was brought under control by the Eugene-Springfield Fire Department after just about an hour on Friday, officials said.

The park, which was briefly closed, has reopened.

The fire was reported at around 3:21 p.m. Friday and was declared controlled by roughly 4:15 p.m.

A firetruck mops up the edges of a brush fire on the east end of Alton Baker Park near the Knickerbocker Bike Bridge on Aug. 25 in Eugene.
A firetruck mops up the edges of a brush fire on the east end of Alton Baker Park near the Knickerbocker Bike Bridge on Aug. 25 in Eugene.

The fire did spread into trees at the park, and an arborist for the city will look at ensuring they don't pose a hazard to the bike path below, said Kelsey Hunter with Eugene-Springfield Fire.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

Scorched grassland marks the site of a brush fire on the east end of Alton Baker Park near the Knickerbocker Bike Bridge and Interstate 5 on Aug. 25 in Eugene.
Scorched grassland marks the site of a brush fire on the east end of Alton Baker Park near the Knickerbocker Bike Bridge and Interstate 5 on Aug. 25 in Eugene.

Zach Urness has been an outdoors reporter in Oregon for 15 years and is host of the Explore Oregon Podcast. Urness is the author of “Best Hikes with Kids: Oregon” and “Hiking Southern Oregon.” He can be reached at zurness@StatesmanJournal.com or 503-399-6801. Find him on Twitter at @ZachsORoutdoors.

This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Alton Baker Park grass fire brought under control in Eugene