House Catches Fire After Landslide
House Catches Fire After Landslide
2 January 2009
published by www.kptv.com
USA — A home in Eagle Creek caught fire Friday after a landslide knocked the house off its foundation.
Estacada firefighters were called to a report of an explosion and a fire at a home on Allen Road along the Clackamas River the previous night. Crews found the garage on fire and the house knocked off its foundation by moving debris late Thursday, fire officials said.
Fire spokesman Troy Buzalsky said the people inside the home were able to escape unharmed and firefighters extinguished the second-alarm blaze.
After firefighters left the scene, mud continued to slide in the area and it eventually blocked off access to the home, authorities said. The fire rekindled and caught fire again Friday morning, leading firefighters to be called to the home a second time.
A four-wheel-drive brush fire truck was able to drive around and over the slide debris to reach the house, but the building was fully involved in fire by that point. Because other trucks weren’t able to reach the home, crews struggled to get control of the fire, fire officials said.
Firefighters didn’t specify what caused the fire.
Allen Road is blocked at Southeast Heiple Road because of the dangerous conditions.
About 150 homes and an estimated 500 people along Heiple Road were affected by the slide. County crews began removing the debris at about 2 p.m. Friday after Portland General Electric removed power lines brought down by the slide.
Officials said they’re hoping to have one lane cleared for travel this evening. The slide was estimated to include about 300 yards of debris
Estacada firefighters were assisting people who were trapped behind the slide with help evacuating and by bringing in necessary resources.
The Clackamas County Emergency Operations Center has coordinated with the American Red Cross and the Whispering Pines Volunteers of America for shelter of displaced citizens in the affected area. The shelter will hold about 70 people.
Heavy rain and melting snow caused landslides all over northwest Oregon on Friday morning. In Lake Oswego, five people were hospitalized after a mudslide crashed into a home. Mud, debris and standing water also blocked highways near the Oregon Coast and on Mount Hood.
