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Cause of fire at marina still unknown

Investigators determine sources of 2 other blazes

By Andy Matarrese, Columbian environment and transportation reporter
Published: September 21, 2015, 7:36pm
2 Photos
A fire destroyed at least two floating homes at Kadow's Catapiller Island Marina off Lower River Road Sunday night. Workers were trying to rebuild part of the dock, which also burned, Monday afternoon.
A fire destroyed at least two floating homes at Kadow's Catapiller Island Marina off Lower River Road Sunday night. Workers were trying to rebuild part of the dock, which also burned, Monday afternoon. (Andy Matarrese) Photo Gallery

It’s still unclear what sparked a fire that tore through three floating homes at Kadow’s Marina off Lower River Road on Sunday night, but investigators have been able to determine the cause of two other fires that day.

Clark County Deputy Fire Marshal Susan Anderson called the marina fire “a big mess” and said investigators had more interviews to conduct. She added that there’s no indication of any criminal activity.

The Sunday night fire, reported around 10:30 p.m., destroyed three homes at the marina, and left two others with smoke and heat damage. The heat from the fire also left the vinyl paneling of a neighboring house misshapen and sagging.

Anderson said the three burned homes were nearly total losses. The damage total was estimated at about $470,000 for the structures and $350,000 for their contents.

Gail Loren’s brother owns the marina, and she works in its office.

On top of destroying the three homes, the fire burned through the dock, she said Monday afternoon.

The homes that burned are near the middle of the dock. Until it’s repaired, she said residents will be using their boats to get to and from their houses.

There are about 100 boat slips along the marina and about 20 homes, she said, and not all the houses were occupied when the fire broke out.

Another house boat burned around 1998, she said, and it took about three months before anyone could rebuild again. That fire burned without damaging the dock.

Loren’s sister lives in one of the houses moored downriver from the fire.

“She was up all night with one of the dogs in her lap,” Loren said. “There was no way she was going to sleep.”

Residents reported seeing flames around 15 feet tall, and power lines and slippery docks made for difficult firefighting conditions.

Loren said her sister finally got about two hours of sleep around 8 a.m.

No one was hurt that evening, and the American Red Cross helped two adults and a dog displaced by the fire.

Firefighters responded to two other two-alarm fires earlier in the day.

The first fire — around 6 a.m. at 5205 N.W. Astor Court, near Lacamas Lake in Camas — appears to have been caused by an electrical problem, said Camas-Washougal Fire Department Fire Marshal Ron Schumacher.

The fire started in the home’s master bedroom, he said, and did about $85,000 in damage to the building. He was unsure of how much damage was done to the contents in the home.

Anderson said the second two-alarm fire, which destroyed a home at 20709 S.E. Evergreen Highway, was started by a faulty generator.

The occupant was testing his emergency generator on his back porch, she said. Something failed in the generator, sparking a fire that spread to the home’s wood siding and inside around 3:45 p.m., she said.

Anderson said the homeowner did not have insurance. The Red Cross provided food, clothing and bedding.

No one was hurt in either fire.

Andy Matarrese: 360-735-4457; andy.matarrese@columbian.com; twitter.com/andy_matter

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Columbian environment and transportation reporter