Firefighters worked all Friday night and into the morning Saturday to put out hot spots from a fire that destroyed a single-story house east of Washougal.
Firefighters were called to the reported blaze at 40806 S.E. Washougal River Road at about 7:15 p.m. Friday and found the 1600-square-foot house fully involved in fire, East County Fire & Rescue emergency support team volunteer Rick Knapp said.
No one was home at the time; no pets were involved, he said. The homeowners are Harold and Linda Davidson, according to Clark County property records.
Crews took a defensive approach, hitting the flames with hoses from outside, Knapp said. Firefighters knew the house would be a complete loss but stayed for hours making sure the flames didn’t spread to adjacent garages and pole barns.
Knapp said that the rural location didn’t offer any nearby fire hydrants, so tanker trucks had to haul the water in. That made the job of getting the fire under control last several hours.
As part of the rehab crew, Knapp said he is happy to report no one was injured, especially with temperatures reaching the mid-90s on Friday.
“The heat was incredible. … Firefighters were reporting it was one of the hottest fires they ever experienced,” he said. “We certainly lost a few pounds in sweat, but everybody was well hydrated. We took precautions in this kind of heat.”
Crews monitored the scene into the morning Saturday as the flames burned the building to the ground. An attached garage and a vehicle stored inside were also destroyed in the blaze.
East County Fire & Rescue was assisted by Vancouver Fire Department and Skamania County Fire District 4.
The Clark County Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating the cause of the fire.
