A fire damaged a train trestle in Milwaukie early Tuesday morning, and the tracks in the area have since been closed.
At about 2:40 a.m., Clackamas Fire crews responded to a fire in a secluded area. Crews arrived and found a train trestle on fire.
Officials say the fire was quickly knocked down – about 10 minutes after crews arrived.
Crews remained on scene for several hours to make sure the fire was completely extinguished and didn’t spread to any nearby brush.
Because of the creosote coating on the trestle, Clackamas Fire is working with the DEQ to evaluate the area. The creosote also poses as a fire hazard, so fire crews will continue to monitor the area for hot spots
“We expect that there will be some hot spots,” said Denny Dahlgren from Clackamas Fire. “We have a schedule with our crews that they’ll come back at intervals and will continue to check it until we’re confident that the hot spots won’t be a factor anymore.”
There is some structural damage to the trestle, which is operated by P&W Railroad. Crews with P&W Railroad were on scene to survey the damage.
They have decided to close the track, at least for a few days.
A woman who lives near where the fire happened gave a firsthand account of the incident.
“I just had time to grab my keys, my phone, called 911, threw my dogs in the truck and let the chickens out of the coop and by then the fire was already like halfway to my property and it was really hot and things were melting on the front side of the coop,” the woman continued. “I’m just glad to get them out in time and I can’t believe how fast it happened.”
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
KPTV