Eugene Springfield Fire said a fast-moving grass fire on Skinner Butte has been contained after crews responded just after 12:30 p.m. to a report from the two block Skinner Butte Loop.
The fire was moving up the hill toward the park when firefighters reached it, and crews flanked it from both sides before stopping its forward progress at a hiking trail near the midpoint of the Butte. Fire officials said there is no threat to nearby structures or to anything spreading beyond the area already reached.
That makes the latest update the one people wanted to hear most on a day when the fire was active and moving quickly. Even so, the area is still being treated as one people should stay away from, which keeps the scene closed off while crews make sure the containment holds.
What remains unanswered is what started the grass fire in the first place. For now, the important fact is simpler: the blaze was caught before it crossed the trail and before it could turn into a broader threat on Skinner Butte.
