As expected the Eastside bank of the Willamette was crowded, the thin path through the spectators for fireworks moved slowly and was slowed down even more with numerous people trying to get bikes through. Four of us ventured down from the Hawthorne bridge and luckily found some space directly across from the fireworks barge and about 20 feet from the fence blocking off the riverbank. Once the show kicked off we realised we had found a great spot for viewing, after a few minutes though the sound of sirens and the smoke directly in fron of us brought to our attention the small grass fire, you can bet the Portland Fire Department were happy they had that fence now. It was nothing big at first until it caught on to what I am sure was very dry grass. As it advanced you could see people with kids moving backwards first, only once it was a few feet from the fence line did onlookers finally get the feeling that they might not want to be standing there. As is the usual panic response in these situations some started screaming and running, just in time for Portland finest to hit the fire with some water cannons, this of course working to our advantage as we now have an empty fence line view. A typical response from onlookers, a fast and effective response from the fire crew and an approving response from the crowd now having a front row view.