The Cornelius, Oregon, Fire Department said Tuesday night that a large industrial fire was under control. Nearby residents who were ordered to evacuate in the afternoon were told they could return home.
*Update* Residents that were evacuated can go home. N Adair St is open. N 4th Ave is closed from the railroad tracks to Holladay St. pic.twitter.com/vWiF01qtPY
— Cornelius FD(Oregon) (@CorneliusFire) March 17, 2021
First video from inside the N 4th Ave incident. Purple material on the ground is the extinguishing agent used to put out the fire by PDX Airport Fire Crews. pic.twitter.com/5bioa3whYP
— Cornelius FD(Oregon) (@CorneliusFire) March 17, 2021
Fire crews had responded to the ethanol fire north of a Walmart Supercenter in Cornelius.
Rosemarie Russell lives across the street and told KOIN-TV it sounded like a car hit her house when the fire started.
“And then another explosion happened and then the fire department came and was knocking on everybody’s door telling them they had one minute to get out. So I had to get all my dogs and leave. It was very scary,” she said.
The Cornelius Fire Department alerted the public to the blaze via its Twitter account just before 2 p.m.
We are on scene of a serious fire on N 4th Ave. This is an ethanol fuel facility. Standby for evacuation notices. pic.twitter.com/wwCPzfTPp6
— Cornelius FD(Oregon) (@CorneliusFire) March 16, 2021
An industrial complex at the fire’s location appears to house several businesses, including one fuel supplier. Firefighters deemed the incident a three-alarm fire.
The hazmat team of Tualatin Valley Fire and Rescue District assisted at the blaze.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
