Molalla Pioneer

Firefighters are battling a six-acre blaze on steep terrain on Weyerhauser property near the Glen Avon Bridge.

The fire started around noon, near a private Weyerhauser road on the west side of the Glen Avon Bridge over the Molalla River.

Although the cause of the first spark is unknown, the fire spread quickly uphill, feeding on dead fuel from last spring's clearcutting of the slope.

"With this slope and as dry as these slash fuels are, it grew very quickly," Chris Paul, protection supervisor with the Oregon Department of Forestry Molalla Unit, said.

A Bureau of Land Management worker called ODF to report the fire, Paul said.

As of press time, crews from the BLM, and the Molalla and Colton Fire Districts had the fire partially contained, with a bulldozer, two private helicopters -- one belonging to Weyerhauser -- six engines and about 40 firefighting personnel.

As of press time, ODF squad boss Gail Herman said neighboring houses were potentially but not immediately threatened.