Portland crews extinguish 2 boat fires on Columbia River

Portland emergency responders were dispatched Monday night to two separate boat fires on the Columbia River.

Crews with Portland Fire & Rescue and the Port of Portland responded about 7 p.m. just south of Hayden Island for what was reported as multiple boat fires, according to a Portland Fire & Rescue news release.

When the crews arrived, they found two boats, one of which was a 30-foot fiberglass sailboat that had caught fire. Another boat was also apparently on fire. One boat was off shore anchored to a piling; the other vessel was beached.

“Land-based fire crews had difficult access issues, but marine units were able to extinguish both fires,” according to Portland Fire & Rescue.

No one was on either boat when responders found them, and no was found injured in the surrounding area.

Fire investigators were called out to scene. However, they weren’t able to determine what caused the incident due to “lack of information and evidence,” officials said.

Both boats appeared to have been used as temporary homes. The vessels were completely destroyed.