Forest Park has history of fire

Major fires have struck three times since 1889

Forest Park has been ravaged by fire before, though few witnesses are still around.

The history-making fires occurred in 1889, 1940 and 1951.

In 1889, the Balch Creek Canyon Fire burned about 9,000 acres, beginning near the bottom of the canyon and moving over the ridgeline into Cedar Mill.

The Bonny Slope Fire of August 1940 burned about 3,000 acres between Northwest Skyline Boulevard and Cedar Mill. High temperatures and strong winds were factors, but the cause of the fire was never determined. It destroyed 11 buildings, and 150 homes were evacuated.

Extremely dry conditions on Aug. 19, 1951, contributed to the West Hills/Forest Park fire, which began near Leif Erikson Drive in Forest Park. It crossed Skyline Drive and spread into Bonny Slope. It burned about 2,000 acres over three days and engaged about 500 firefighters.

In the following years, two 10,000-gallon water tanks and a reservoir were built along Leif Erikson Drive to supply fire engines, and bulldozers cleared several fire lanes through the park for emergency access.

Although no major fires have broken out in the park since 1951, the 2017 Eagle Creek Fire and the 2020 September Wildfire Smoke Event prompted an update of the Multnomah County Communitywide Wildfire Protection Plan in 2023.

“The last six years have been a particularly dynamic period of wildfire and wildfire smoke impact in Multnomah County,” the report reads. “Catastrophic-level events that have dramatically indicated the need for ongoing planning and coordination among wildfire and wildfire smoke-management partners.”

—Allan Classen