Row River Fire: 'A lot of devastation; some of these houses were just ashes'
COTTAGE GROVE, Ore. -- Three Cottage Grove homes were destroyed Wednesday night, reduced to ashes in the fast-moving Row River Fire.
The 12-acre blaze started near Dorena school.
Crews continued mop-up operations Wednesday night after the fire tore through seven structures - three homes and four out-buildings.
The families in each home are OK.
The call came in around 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, according to the Oregon Department of Forestry.
The fire is believed to have started in one of the structures.
Both South Lane Fire and Rescue and ODFW helped put out the fire.
ODFW’s Marcus Kauffman says heat and strong winds are to blame for the fire blowing north through the structures and into grass and brush.
"You know, those houses are fully involved and then the fire is spreading out into the wildland and its high temperatures,” Kauffman said. “Everyone knows that it's fall and the kids are going back to school, but we're still in fire season and these fires have potential to move really quickly. (There’s) a lot of devastation; some of these houses were just ashes."
Along with the homes, numerous vehicles and a couple lawn mowers were destroyed in the fire.
Kauffman says the homes are a complete loss.
The cause is still under investigation.
