Fire destroys horse arena south of Battle Ground

A large horse arena southwest of Battle Ground was destroyed by fire early Wednesday morning.

Clark County Fire & Rescue crews were dispatched at 3:57 a.m. to 10025 N.E. 184th St., in the Meadow Glade area, for a report that a horse arena was ablaze.

Initial reports indicated the building was quickly burning, and propane tanks inside the arena were randomly exploding, according to a news release from the fire agency.

The first arriving crew made it to the property in about nine minutes and found the nearly 13,000-square-foot horse barn and riding arena engulfed in flames.

The property owners were able to free several horses from the arena before firefighters arrived, Fire Chief John Nohr said.

Flames coming off the arena were threatening a home about 75 feet away, so crews initially doused the arena from its exterior to prevent the house from catching fire, Nohr said.

Once portions of the roof and arena’s siding had burned and collapsed, firefighters were able to attack the blaze more aggressively and had it under control in about 20 minutes, according to the fire chief.

Nohr described the arena as one of the finest in the area. The structure primarily consisted of wood, he said.

Crews remained at the scene for several more hours to ensure the fire was entirely extinguished.

There were no injuries as a result of the fire, and all of the animals on the property are safe, according to the fire agency. The reported explosions were likely propane tanks filling with pressure, which causes the tanks’ vents to fail and release that pressure, not actually explode. Nohr said crews found no evidence of a large explosion.

Four fire engines, two water tenders and five chief officers, totaling 16 firefighters, responded to the scene. Clark County Fire District 3 and Vancouver Fire Department crews also responded to help.

The Clark County Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating the cause.