Wildfire singes Cherry Heights in The Dalles

THE DALLES — A fire was called in to The Dalles at 9:05 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept 2, quickly spreading across farm fields and wildland terrain between Mill Creek and Cherry Heights. At one point, flames were so tall that people in Dallesport could see them from across the river.

Firefighters from Mid-Columbia Fire Rescue, Dufur Volunteer Fire and Ambulance, Mosier Fire, Dallesport/ Murdock Volunteer Fire Department, Mt. Hood National Forest- U.S. Forest Service, and Oregon State Police arrived on scene, and immediately started laying lines and dousing the flames with water.

No structures were burned during the fire despite 14 nearby homes being threatened initially. Only a fence suffered fire damage.

By 10:20 p.m., crews had a handle on the fire, which was estimated to be about 2.74 acres. Despite being in mop-up phase, firefighters remained on-scene until the morning of Sept. 3 to monitor for potential hot spots or flare-ups from smoldering oak and pine trees, as well as continuing burning in the ground duff.

The cause is currently under investigation.