Firefighters work 12 hours to fight Old Mac Highway blaze

Rusty Rae/News-Register##The blaze was reported as a wildland fire at 7:58 p.m. Friday.

Rusty Rae/News-Register##It quickly spread from burning pallets to the adjacent house, sending black smoke and flames high into the sky.

Rusty Rae/News-Register##Carlton Fire Chief Tim Jech said numerous pallets, the house and parked cars caught fire. Wind and a lack of water at the scene complicated the incident.

Rusty Rae/News-Register##Firefighters from multiple agencies worked for 12 hours to control the blaze.

[Updated 12:15 p.m., 6/14/2025]

Firefighters from throughout Yamhill County fought for almost 12 hours to extinguish a three-alarm blaze that destroyed a house, numerous pallets stacked nearby and wildland on Old McMinnville Highway, southwest of Carlton. The partly gravel road roughly parallels Highway 47 north of Gun Club Road.

Heavy black smoke could be seen from Carlton, and residents of some areas of the southwest part of town could see flames rising high into the sky, as well. 

It was called in as a wildland fire at 7:58 p.m. Friday, June 13. It quickly went to three alarms because of the structures, parked vehicles and flammable materials involved, Carlton Fire Chief Tim Jech said.

Conditions were windy. Water supplies were limited at the rural site, so tender trucks ferried water to the scene, he said. The water trucks repeatedly shuttled into Carlton to refill from hydrants, then returned to the scene.

Yamhill, McMinnville and Lafayette firefighters joined Carlton crews, then additional units were called in from Amity, Sheridan, Willamina, Grand Ronde, Newberg, King City, Cornelius and other departments. 

Crews remained actively fighting the fire until after 7 a.m. Saturday, and are continuing to monitor the site as the last flames burn themselves out, the chief said about noon.

Jech and some other Carlton firefighters were out of town helping extinguish the Rowena fire between Hood River and The Dalles when the Old McMinnville Highway blaze broke out. They were dismissed and returned to Carlton, where they assisted with the cleanup.

The chief said he was proud of the response from his firefighters and the crews from other departments. They worked together well to keep the fire from spreading, especially given the limited amount of water, he said.

"It was a good response," he said. 

 A cause of the fire has not yet been determined.