Pile of tree limbs burns at Vancouver wood recycling facility

Firefighters were kept busy Thursday morning when a pile of tree limbs caught fire at a wood recycling facility in Vancouver’s Sifton neighborhood.

A deputy with the Clark County Sheriff’s Office passed by H & H Wood Recyclers, 8403 N.E. 117th Ave., just after 4 a.m. Thursday and saw a fire on the property, Vancouver Fire Department spokesman Joe Spatz said.

Firefighters responded to the scene and quickly learned that a building was not involved, but a pile of tree limbs was ablaze, Spatz said.

The pile was about 120 feet by 700 feet, but about 100 feet by 100 feet of that pile was on fire, Spatz said.

Crews doused the blaze and had the fire under control in about 30 minutes. Firefighters remained on scene wetting the area for about three hours. The owner of the facility was called and heavy machine operators assisted firefighters in moving the debris to get at hot spots, Spatz said.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.