Editing Bandon, Oregon (section)

===Fire===
On September 26, 1936, a fire burned several miles of forest east of town. But a sudden shift in the wind drove the flames swiftly westward. Ignited by the forest fire, the town's abundant gorse became engulfed in flames, Bandon resident D.H. Woomer told ''[[The Coos Bay Times]]''. Bandon's entire commercial district was destroyed. The total loss stated at the time was $3 million [[United States dollar|USD]], with 11 fatalities.

Ironically, the gorse was first introduced to the Oregon Coast by the founder of Bandon, Lord George Bennett, from his native Ireland.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.offbeatoregon.com/H1011d-bandon-founder-favorite-plant-destroyed-his-town.html|title=Bandon founder's favorite plant destroyed the town he founded &#124; Offbeat Oregon History|website=www.offbeatoregon.com}}</ref>

Firefighters found that burning gorse reacted to having water squirted on it like a kitchen [[grease fire]]—it simply spread burning gobs of gorse everywhere. [[Stewart Holbrook]] described this conflagration in his essay "The Gorse of Bandon."<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.stansellguitars.com/Port_Orford_cedar_Facts.htm|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090204194357/http://www.stansellguitars.com/Port_Orford_cedar_Facts.htm|url-status=dead|title=Stansell guitars supplies POC lumber<!-- Bot generated title -->|archivedate=February 4, 2009}}</ref><ref>Holbrook, Stewart. Wildmen, Wobblies and Whistle Punks (ed. Brian Booth). Corvallis: OSU Press, 1992</ref>

Part of the commercial district had been erected on wooden pilings jutting out over the Coquille River not far from the South Jetty, accommodating river traffic at the merchants' doors. After the 1936 fire, when Bandon began to be rebuilt, the new perimeter of the business district did not extend beyond the available land.{{Citation needed|date=January 2011}}

There is still gorse in Bandon today, but municipal codes strictly regulate how high and thick it may be allowed to get.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cityofbandon.org/ru/page/home-page|title=Home Page|website=City of Bandon, Oregon}}</ref>