Firefighters and other emergency personnel monitor and battle a fire at a vacant warehouse in Northwest Portland, Ore., on Aug. 2, 2026.
Saj Sundaram / OPB
Firefighters in Portland battled a large fire Sunday inside a vacant warehouse in the 1300 block of Naito Parkway, near the Fremont Bridge.
The fire sent out huge plumes of smoke, visible from miles away.
Portland Fire & Rescue first responded to the fire at about 3:50 p.m. and it quickly rose to a 4-alarm assignment, according to spokesperson Rick Graves. Nearly 100 firefighters and emergency responders were called to the scene.
Graves said nearly two hours after the initial call, the fire was considered under control.
“This 116-year-old, 8-story former warehouse with a large water tower resting on the roof has been the site of previous responses with small fires in the thick timber flooring,” Graves said in a release Sunday night. “Unlike previous responses with light smoke wisping out of a lower floor window, this response had heavy black and brown smoke pushing out under pressure from all sides of the structure.”
The building had previously been reported as unsafe, so firefighters were only providing exterior defensive action.
“With multiple reports of leaning walls, the heavy steel water tower structure on the roof, and concerns of structural collapse the command officer directed the members on scene to back away out of the collapse zone,” Graves said.
He said as the blaze grew, the floors of the building collapsed, sending piles of timber to the fire at the bottom of the large masonry building, “funneling the flames and smoke upward like a large chimney.”
You can see the flames from N Portland pic.twitter.com/PDq5AbxBLE
— Megan Russell (@regan__mussell) August 2, 2026
Northwest Naito Parkway was closed in the area due to the potential for the entire structure to collapse.
“The flames were actively pushing fire brands and large embers floating into the sky and dropping down on the roofs of neighboring buildings, into nearby trees, and onto many patches of dry vegetation starting many spot fires throughout the area,” Graves said.
Two brush units were actively addressing the smaller fires and ensuring the flames did not reach any neighboring structures.
Most of the fire was knocked out by 6 p.m., but Graves said firefighters remained on watch to extinguish any fires that might have started overnight.
He said the Scappoose Fire District Aviation Team would fly a drone throughout the building Monday to map the inside of the structure and help with the investigation.
Northwest Naito Parkway will remain closed until the nearby area is deemed safe.
— Portland Fire & Rescue (@PDXFire) August 3, 2026
