Community Playground Damaged by Fire, Investigation Underway
Published on February 09, 2023
The Olsrud Family Community Playground at Bear Creek Park was damaged by an early morning fire on Thursday, February 9. The Medford Fire Department responded quickly to the scene and began working to extinguish the fire. Medford Police Officers also responded to assist.
Witnesses in the area reported seeing an unidentified subject playing with a butane torch on the play structure before the fire started. A Medford Fire Investigator and Medford Police Detectives were summoned to the scene. This case is actively under investigation at this time.
The playground is currently closed until further notice. Parks, Recreation, and Facility staff are working to assess the severity of damage and determine if other parts of the play structure was impacted by the fire.
Due to its unique infrastructure, it will take time to evaluate viable repair and replacement options.
Over 1,100 community members helped bring this custom-built playground to life. We built it together and we will figure out a way to restore it.
About the Olsrud Family Community Playground at Bear Creek Park
One of the largest custom-built playgrounds in the Pacific Northwest, the Olsrud Family Community Playground opened to the public in December 2018.
Following 14 months of planning, design, site preparation and assembly, the eagerly anticipated grand opening ribbon-cutting ceremony was held on Saturday, December 15, 2018.
The City kicked off the effort to replace the popular 30-year-old wooden playground at the same location with a larger, modern and more accessible version on Oct. 26, 2017, when students from Roosevelt and Hoover elementary schools participated in a design charrette.
Named by the Medford City Council to honor the longtime philanthropy of the Sherm and Wanda Olsrud Family, the 18,000-square-foot castle-themed playground designed by Leathers & Associates is double the size of its predecessor.
The new playground was made possible by the City of Medford, cash and in-kind donations from the community, and by nearly 1,100 volunteers, who, along with local contractors and City staff, assembled the structure over the past two months. The grassroots effort was coordinated by the Medford Parks and Recreation Department, JWA Public Affairs and the Medford Parks and Recreation Foundation.
The Olsrud playground was designed to accommodate the children with special abilities to the greatest extent possible, including several custom features like the “Liberty Swing” that serves those using wheelchairs.
