Fern Hill Road is open again

Fern Hill Road between Taylor Way and Geiger Road has reopened after the latest round of flooding closed the popular commuter route last week. Washington County Land Use & Transportation crews closed the road's flood gates early Friday, March 13, after floodwaters spilled over the roadway overnight during heavy rain. Before the gates were in place, a motorist drove into the floodwaters and became stuck. By the time Forest Grove Fire & Rescue arrived, the driver had gotten herself and her dog to safety. The vehicle was nearly entirely submerged in a ditch between the road and Fern Hill Wetlands. “The vehicle is going to stay there until the waters recede. Thankfully in this instance, no one was hurt,” Matt Johnston, a Forest Grove Fire & Rescue spokesperson, said at the scene. Johnston flew a drone over the flooded road to view the submerged vehicle. The driver told responders she had been followed by another vehicle and felt pressured to drive into the floodwaters rather than turn around. It was the second time a car has been caught in floodwaters on Fern Hill Road since News in the Grove began covering the stretch. On Dec. 27, 2024, a motorist entered the water before county crews could close the gates and became stranded. Emergency crews waded through floodwaters and brought that driver back to dry land in a rubber raft. The stretch between Taylor Way and Geiger Road floods regularly during the rainy season as the Tualatin River, fed by Gales Creek upstream, overflows its banks. Washington County has installed two flood gates to close the road when water encroaches, but a gap between when flooding begins and when crews arrive to shut the gates has left a window for drivers to enter the water, particularly in the early morning hours. Drivers can check real-time road conditions on county and state roads at wc-roads.com and tripcheck.com.