Vancouver Fire Department helps extinguish Hayden Island fire

The Vancouver Fire Department helped extinguish a two-alarm wildland fire Wednesday evening on Hayden Island.

Portland Fire and Rescue crews responded shortly after 5 p.m. to the fire that had spread to 5 acres of undeveloped land. Crews arrived to find a wall of fire as high as 15 feet in the surrounding trees.

Because of the timing of the fire during rush hour traffic, firefighters were delayed by traffic in reaching the blaze, according to a news release.

The first arriving fire chief requested a second alarm because of the challenges reaching the fire. A Vancouver fire boat responded as a part of the upgrade and sprayed water as far as it could reach from the banks of the Columbia River, the news release states.

After about three hours, crews got the fire under control.

Several firefighters remained on scene to extinguish hot spots, and the Portland fire department said crews planned to return Thursday morning. No buildings were threatened by the blaze, and a total of 56 firefighters responded, the agency said.

The fire department reminded people to pull over and make room for emergency vehicles when their lights are flashing.