A fire in a generator spread Monday afternoon, damaging a Yacolt house, porch and shop, according to Clark County Fire District 13.
The resident who lives at 205 Humphrey St. went outside at about 3 p.m. to do a monthly check on his backup power source, a wired-in generator, but the starter got stuck open and started a fire, Fire District 13 Chief Ben Peeler said.
The resident went inside to grab a fire extinguisher, but by the time he came back out, the fire had fully engulfed the generator and was climbing up the exterior wall of his house, Peeler said. The fire spread to a porch, a connecting shop and a 100-foot tall cedar tree.
A neighbor who noticed the commotion called 911, and firefighters responded and quickly extinguished the blaze, Peeler said.