UPDATE: Fire damages east Vancouver house

Flames from burning bushes set fire to the exterior of a house at 18602 S.E. 24th Circle in the Fisher’s Landing area near Southeast 192nd Avenue in Vancouver.

Kathy Kelly was returning home after getting breakfast just after 8 a.m. when she spotted the fire. She got out of her car and ran to the front door of the house to see if anyone was inside. When a woman answered the door, Kelly told her the house was on fire and she could get out. The two got two children out of the home and went outside to wait for firefighters to arrive.

“I was panicking, and it wasn’t my house,” Kelly said. “I can imagine what she was going through.”

Firefighters from the Vancouver Fire Department arrived to find heavy smoke coming from the roof of the house. When crews determined no one was inside, they started fighting the fire, said Capt. Kevin Murray of the Vancouver Fire Department. He said firefighters “chased” the flames around the attic of the house for about 30 minutes -before the fire was under

control.

The fire caused significant smoke damage to the entire house, Murray said. “The whole living room ceiling is missing, the rafters are charred,” he

said.

The cause of the fire is undetermined, but a fire marshal estimated the damage to the house was $150,000.

The Camas-Washougal Fire Department also responded.

The American Red Cross of Southwest Washington is assisting the homeowners.