SMOKE FROM a Sept. 3 fire, which destroyed a pole barn near NE 191st Street, was visible from downtown Vancouver to the Ridgefield I-5 intersection.
A two-alarm fire Sept. 3 destroyed a pole barn near NE 191st Street and damaged cars in a nearby driveway, Clark County Fire & Rescue Battalion Chief Tim Dawdy said.
The 60-foot by 30-foot, two-story barn was completely involved in flames when Clark County Fire & Rescue personnel from the Battle Ground station arrived, he said. Assistance came from Clark County Fire District 3 and the Vancouver Fire Department.
“That first engine company did a great job,” Dawdy said.
No injuries resulted from the blaze, but traffic along SR 503 was slowed due to the closure of one lane. Clark County Sheriff’s Office personnel directed traffic.
The cause of the fire and the dollar amount of damage wasn’t immediately known. Dawdy said the Clark County Fire Marshal’s office is investigating.
The blaze began about 1 p.m. and firefighters were still on the scene hours later. They couldn’t do anything to save the pole barn, but Dawdy said they managed to protect a house just east of the barn where fire was advancing. They also protected a house on the west, although some cars in that residence’s driveway were burned.
Smoke was visible as far away as the Ridgefield I-5 interchange and downtown Vancouver, Dawdy said.
He added that an adult male in the house immediately to the west, at 12100 NE 191st St., was taken from the building, but twice re-entered. Firefighters were able to remove him each time.
“There was quite a bit of damage to the house on the east,” Dawdy said.
He emphasized that no one should ever enter a burning house, saying it is statistically a deadly maneuver to try. Firefighters’ work was complicated by downed power lines in the area.
“There was an excellent response from Clark Public Utilities to shut off power in the area,” Dawdy said.
A total of six engines, a tower truck, six fire chiefs and two dozen firefighters responded.
