Firefighters sent to house twice in same day in Cowlitz County

Firefighters in Cowlitz County were kept busy Monday by an afternoon house fire that rekindled later in the evening.

Cowlitz-Skamania Fire District 7 was called to the house fire at 7441 Lewis River Road, just north of the Clark County line and Lake Merwin, at about 2 p.m. Monday.

“Crews arrived and found the building completely involved, with flames shooting out of the windows,” said Fire Chief Gary Stuart.

The blaze was contained within 45 minutes, Stuart said, but crews remained on scene for about four hours putting out hot spots.

Crews were called back to the house at about 10:20 p.m. for a rekindle, Stuart said.

“There were some hot spots we couldn’t reach because of damage to the floor,” he said. “We were trying to put everything out from the outside.”

Crews stayed on scene until 4 a.m. Tuesday putting out the new hot spots.

The agency was assisted by Cowlitz County Fire District 1.