A wildfire broke out between Fairview and Myrtle Point on Friday afternoon, forcing the Myrtle Point School District to find alternative routes for kids to get home.

The blaze kindled a day before the agency bumped up fire prevention restrictions for rural landowners and logging operators due to hot, dry weather conditions. (See related story.)

The fire was reported at 2:35 p.m., according to Tom Fields, Coos Forest Protective Association spokesman.

“We responded to a grass and brush fire that was caused by a tree that fell on a power line,” Fields said.

The flames quickly spread to both sides of the road at Milepost 16 on Sitkum Lane.

Just before 3 p.m., around the time the schools were letting kids go home, the Myrtle Point district received notification that one of the bus routes was closed, said Kent Klewitz, district superintendent.

Staff posted a flash alert online for media and began calling parents. They soon found out there was an alternate route the buses could take, but it was too late to notify parents who were already driving in to pick up their children, he said.

Other students, who weren’t picked up, were able to ride home on Myrtle Point School District school buses that were diverted to another road.

“As far as I know, all the kids have been taken care of,” Klewitz said on the phone from his office Friday afternoon.

By 4 p.m., firefighters had the blaze contained to 1 1/2 acres, Field said. At about 4:30 p.m., he said firefighters were dousing hot spots to keep the fire within containment lines. The fire didn’t threaten any homes.

Three engines, one helicopter and 11 firefighters from CFPA responded. They were assisted by firefighters from the Dora/Sitkum and McKinley rural fire departments.