SCAPPOOSE, Ore. - A blaze at Oregon-based Beaver Bark Timber Products was caused by spontaneous combustion, according to firefighters.

 

On September 3, firefighters arrived to find a massive blaze in a 25-foot-tall, 50-foot-wide, and 100-foot-long bark dust pile. 

 

"The fire was contained using 14 personnel, multiple engines, and a water tender from Columbia River Fire & Rescue," Cheryl Engstrom, the district's public information officer, told the Columbia County Spotlight.

 

Beaver Bark employees were critical in helping extinguish the fire, helping operate excavators and a water truck.

 

This isn't the first fire at Beaver Bark. And it isn't the first fire to be caused by spontaneous combustion. Records show that mulch piles have combusted at least five times over the past five years. Bark dust is known to spontaneously combust especially in warmer regions with little rainfall.

 

Temperatures reached 93 degrees the day of the fire.