Woodland auto shop heavily damaged in early blaze

An auto repair shop in Woodland was heavily damaged after an early-morning two-alarm fire ripped through the business.

Crews from Clark County Fire & Rescue were notified of the blaze at 3:36 a.m. Tuesday, and arriving firefighters found a fire in the commercial building, 9555 S. Old Pacific Highway, said Tim Dawdy, spokesman for the fire agency. They quickly called for a second alarm. Crews from the Vancouver Fire Department, Clark County Fire District 6 and Cowlitz County Fire District 1 also responded.

Fire in the repair area of the shop, which included burning automobiles, solvents and repair materials, “was burning vigorously,” Dawdy said.

After attacking the flames for 30 minutes, Dawdy said, firefighters were able to confine the fire to the repair area, saving the office portion of the building.

The building was not occupied at the time of the fire, and no one was injured, Dawdy said.

Clark County Deputy Fire Marshal Susan Anderson said that the on-site investigation was completed Tuesday, and there was no sign of criminal activity.

“The cause is undetermined at this point,” she said. “Due to the severity of the fire damage and the available information, I don’t anticipate that a cause is going to be determined.”

She did not yet have an estimate for the monetary loss caused by fire and smoke damage.