Neighbors scramble as fire threatens Goshen homes 33%
By Haleigh Kochanski30%
7/31/2026, 5:55:54 PM
Topics: Fire
BS Summary: This article contains 14 faulty reasoning types, including Confirmation Bias, Anecdotal, and Unattributed Quote, with Availability Heuristic as the most egregious example at 22.7% saturation with 73 hits. Analysis detected 390 faulty-reasoning hits from 322 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 36.7% and a BS Rank of 33% (16,988 of 25,280 articles). This article is better (less manipulative) than 67.20% of the article peer group.
A fire torched an estimated 3 acres of vegetation near several homes off Highway 58 east of Goshen July 31.
Pleasant Hill Goshen Fire and Rescue was alerted to the fire at about 3:20 p.m.
A neighbor said he believed the fire originated in a shipping container on the property.
"My house is right there and this is burning," Rick Lawson said, pointing to the shipping container.
"I'm worried about it.
I'm worried that it may still flare up again later."
The grandson of the owner of the property where the fire originated said the shipping container contained family heirlooms like diaries and pictures.
"That thing's cooked," said Michael Colton.
"It probably started outside."
Colton said he became aware of the fire when he heard crackling noises outside.
Immediately, he said he called for help, alerted neighbors, hooked up a hose and started spraying the flames with water.
"It was fast.
We spotted it within a minute, and the flames were higher than the containers," Colton said.
"The fire department was very fast with their response time."
About an acre of brush and fencing on Nancy Schwoerer's three-acre property was torched.
She said Colton came knocking on her door and said her property was on fire.
"It was frightening at first.
It was moving so quickly I was afraid some of these big trees would take off," Schwoerer said.
Her son, Michael, picked up a hose and started watering down vegetation.
When fire crews arrived, he helped them put out spot fires and manage smoldering.
"I'm thankful they were able to get it under control so quickly," Schwoerer said.
The area's residents were grateful for the quick response from the fire department and warned others conditions in the region are ripe for fires to spread quickly.
Haleigh Kochanski is a breaking news and public safety reporter for The Register-Guard.
You may reach her at HKochanski@gannett.com.
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