MILWAUKIE, Ore. — A large fire that broke out early Tuesday morning damaged a train trestle in Oak Grove, south of Milwaukie. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Around 2:40 a.m., firefighters responded to a structured bridge fire near Southeast Fairoaks Drive, Clackamas Fire said on social media. Crews arrived to the scene and saw a large train trestle on fire.
"As they came around the corner, they saw just a wall of fire that starts where the charring is and continues to where the charring ends," said Denny Dahlgren, a spokesperson for Clackamas Fire.
The agency shared video of the fire in a post on X and Facebook, showing massive flames engulfing a section of the bridge.
Part of the railroad tracks snapped and forced fire crews to brace for the worst.
"The sound that it made caused some concern that maybe there was going to be a collapse," Dahlgren said.
Firefighters put out the flames in about 10 minutes. There were no injuries or reports of major damage to surrounding homes, but part of the neighborhood was covered in ash.
"We got up this morning and we spotted a lot of smoke in the air, and we were walking around our front yard and we noticed these big pieces of ash," said Dennis Nolan, who lives on the north side of the tracks. "That shows you how serious this fire was when big pieces like this coming off."
Portland & Western Railroad operates the trestle, which leads to a railroad bridge over the Willamette River. A spokesperson for the railroad company said trains are no longer crossing the tracks as its team is assessing damages. Trains are being detoured.
"Traffic through the area is currently halted as our team inspects the full impact to the structure and assess any remedial actions that may need to be taken," a spokesperson for Portland & Western Railroad wrote in an email to KGW.
Portland & Western Railroad also said there was a fire pit underneath the trestle, which could have been what caused the fire. However, Clackamas Fire has not released any information about that and the cause of the fire is still under investigation.
PHOTOS: Train trestle fire near Milwaukie
This is a developing story and it will be updated when more information becomes available.