Hot ATV exhaust contacting dry vegetation caused 2023 Liberty Fire in Salem, report finds

The Liberty Fire last August caused an estimated $1 million in damage, according to a report from the Salem Fire Department.

The estimate includes structures and timber destroyed but not the cost of suppressing the fire.

Local and state fire agencies dispatched more than 100 personnel and 30 apparatus to battle the Aug. 23 brush fire turned wildfire in the tinder-dry hills just south of Salem.

Firefighters on the ground and in the air helped limit the spread to 50 acres. More than 600 residents received evacuation orders, but no one was injured or lost their home.

Salem Fire could not say what it cost the agency to fight the fire. The Oregon State Fire Marshal's office said it cost more than $95,000 to do its part, deploying four aircraft crucial to dousing the flames and containing the fire.

Impacted property owners have filed claims with their personal homeowner's insurance and been paid, although nowhere near the value of their damaged property, including outbuildings, fencing and timber.

What recourse do they have? Who is responsible when a fire starts on private land? Do insurance companies simply have to duke it out?

There are no clear answers for a community increasingly on edge during fire season, especially residents who live in the hills of south Salem and have experienced potentially catastrophic late-summer wildfires each of the past three years.

Investigation determines cause of Liberty Fire in Salem

A deputy fire marshal led the investigation into the Liberty Fire, and Salem Fire provided the Statesman Journal with a copy of the origin and cause report.

The report confirms what the newspaper reported the day after the fire. It originated in a field at 6331 Liberty Road S. and was caused by the hot exhaust of an ATV contacting dry vegetation.

The property owner is listed on the report as Terry Kelly, a local developer familiar to many in Salem. He is a former partner in Pence/Kelly Construction and Creekside Golf Club.

Kelly also is listed in the Liberty Fire report as a witness. He did not respond to an interview request.

The lead investigator interviewed Kelly at the scene on the day of the fire. He told the investigator his grandkids were riding ATVs in the field on the north end of the property and had come back to eat some lunch. Shortly after, they noticed a column of smoke.

Kelly stated to the investigator that the ATVs had spark arrestors, and "there was no way that they started the fire."

Most ATVs sold in the United States have spark arrestors as part of the original factory equipment. They act as filters, trapping or destroying hot exhaust particles before they exit the exhaust system.

Although not always 100% effective, the U.S. Forest Service says a properly installed and maintained spark arrestor will reduce the risk of fire.

Nowhere on the Liberty Fire report does it say the investigator inspected the ATVs for spark arrestors.

A Salem Fire Department official told the Statesman Journal that Kelly and others reported the ATVs were new and, to their knowledge, had not been modified.

"The ATVs were riding in tall, dry grass. A fire can start with hot exhaust, sparks, or grass accumulating around engine components," the fire official wrote in an email. "Since these were the only ignition sources in the area at the time of the fire, the investigator did not feel that a further examination was needed."

Witness watched from her window as fire ignited

Two other hypotheses were considered based on information gathered during the investigation and examination of the fire scene, but both were quickly ruled out:

• An electrical fire caused by utilities due to high winds or heat: The report said conditions were conducive to a power line failing, but there were no power lines where the fire originated.

• A fire caused by refraction: Kelly told the investigator he was convinced there was enough glass in the field to have started the fire. The investigator could not find glass in the area.

Based on witness interviews, the only hypothesis that could not be ruled out was a fire caused by a motor vehicle.

"A recreational vehicle in a dry field is a competent ignition source," the investigator wrote in the report.

A neighbor to the south on Jory Hill who called 911 saw the fire ignite. She told the investigator she noticed black spots behind the ATVs and the beginning of a fire. She lost two outbuildings during the blaze, and the carcasses of both remained months later.

Two other witnesses whose properties and homes were threatened are listed in the report but with no comments.

One of their houses survived despite being flanked by fire. But they lost most of their fencing, either to the fire or when the fire department tried gaining better access while battling the blaze.

The other witness lost several trees on their property.

Dramatic aerial photographs captured by a Salem Police drone showed how dangerously close the fire came to sweeping through a thicket of tall fir trees, wiping out homes and jumping Jory Hill Road S.

Property has a scorched history dating back to 1970s

The property at 6331 Liberty Road has a history of fires in the past 50 years.

In December 1975, a fire damaged the second-story and attic of a home on the property. The cause: An overheated fireplace, according to the Statesman Journal archives.

In 1985, a grass fire was reported in late September on the property. No other details were provided, other than it was extinguished.

In 2000, another grass fire was reported in July. It was described in the newspaper as an out-of-control backyard burn that ripped through a grassy field, scorched 20-30 acres and destroyed a barn. The cause, according to the deputy fire marshal: careless burning of debris.

In 2003, the property was determined to have been used for illegal drug manufacturing and placed on a list of contaminated sites by the Clandestine Drug Lab Program of Oregon Health Authority.

The program assures properties are properly evaluated, decontaminated and fit for reoccupancy. A site cannot be removed from the list until it is cleaned up by a state-licensed contractor and a Certificate of Fitness has been issued by OHA.

Sometime around 2007, a fire destroyed the house on the property. Transients were reported to have started the blaze.

The property languished on the "unfit for use" list for nearly 20 years, with the burden of cleanup falling to the new owner.

New property owner removed potential fuel for fire

Jory Creek Acres LLC purchased the 115.3-acre property for $2 million in December 2022, according to county records. The limited liability company's articles of organization, filed with the Oregon Secretary of State's office, list Kelly as a member/manager.

Within just a few months, the property was being cleaned up under the supervision of Northwest Firefighters Environmental of Philomath. A public records request confirmed Jory Creek Acres completed all remediation requirements by late April 2023.

Two sheds were removed, the property was cleaned of all trash and debris, and the well water was tested, revealing no contaminates potentially affiliated with methamphetamine.

The cleanup included the removal and disposal of nearly 300 tires, according to receipts included in the final report provided by Oregon Health Authority. Jory Creek Acres paid a Molalla tire disposal company more than $1,100 to haul off the tires.

If they had not been removed from the property, they could have added fuel to the August fire. Rubber tires are highly combustible, burn intensely, and release toxic pollutants harmful to humans and the environment.

Northwest Firefighters Environmental stated the 115 acres were thoroughly inspected, and every accessible location of the property was evaluated during a follow-up site assessment.

The Public Health Division sent a letter to Kelly dated May 4, 2023, verifying the decontamination requirements had been met and declared the property fit for use. A Certificate of Fitness was enclosed.

Community warned of increasing wildfire danger

Kelly does not have a permanent residence on the property. An RV sits in the vicinity where the house that burned down used to be.

A few months before buying the property, Kelly submitted a replacement dwelling application to the Marion County Planning Division on behalf of the previous owners. It was approved.

The property is south of Salem city limits, outside the Urban Growth Boundary but inside the Salem Suburban Rural Fire Protection District. Salem Fire Department provides emergency services to the district.

Kelly was on the property when the Aug. 23 fire started, according to the investigation report. The report says it started in the northwest corner, closer to Mildred Lane, which runs perpendicular to Liberty Road and is just inside the city limits.

Conditions were ripe for a brush fire, with persistent high temperatures and increasingly dry conditions, and tall grass and dense thickets throughout the property. Four consecutive 100-plus-degree days were recorded in Salem the week before, with an average temperature of 97 degrees.

The Oregon Department of Forestry announced restrictions in mid-August in Marion County as the fire danger level reached red, or extreme.

The use of power saws and mowing dried or cured grass were prohibited. Motor vehicles, including motorcycles and ATVs, were to only be used on improved roads free of flammable vegetation, except when used for the commercial culture and harvest of crops.

Local officials had warned for days about the increasing fire danger, although the city of Salem lifted its burn ban the day before the Liberty Fire on the heels of cooler temperatures and higher humidity.

The high forecast for Aug. 23 was 81 degrees.

National data shows 89% of wildfires are human-caused

Most wildfires are human-caused, resulting from campfires left unattended, the burning of debris, equipment use and malfunctions, negligently discarded cigarettes, and intentional acts of arson.

The Congressional Research Service, using data compiled by the National Interagency Coordination Center, reported 89% of the average number of wildfires from 2018 to 2022 were human-caused.

Agencies are mandated to investigate fires to determine the origin and cause. Knowing what causes fires can help communities better implement educational campaigns and prevention programs.

Three brush fires have erupted in the hills of south Salem the past three summers. All were human-caused and involved sparks or hot exhaust systems from power-driven machinery with internal combustion engines.

The most recent fire could have happened on any rural property, where power-driven machinery is regularly relied on for getting around (ATVs) and mowing or removing brush (riding mowers, tractors).

Fire agencies recommend operators carry water and other fire suppression equipment, such as a small fire extinguisher and a shovel. They remind everyone to be cautious about using anything that can cause a spark when it is hot and dry during fire season.

The Liberty Fire reinforced just how dry and combustible vegetation can be and how easily and quickly a fire can erupt and spread. Even with spark arrestors on an ATV, the risk of hot engine parts touching dry grass is real.

"Salem Fire encourages ATV riders to ride responsibly," a fire official said. “Riding in areas with limited vegetation is important to prevent fires like this during these dry conditions."

Capi Lynn is a senior reporter for the Statesman Journal. Email comments, questions and tips to her at clynn@StatesmanJournal.com, or follow her on X @CapiLynn and Facebook @CapiLynnSJ.

This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Oregon wildfire report reveals cause of Liberty Fire in Salem