BIGGS JUNCTION, Ore. — A fire destroyed a TA Express travel center and truck stop in Biggs Junction Tuesday morning, according to the Sherman County Sheriff's Office.
The sheriff's office posted photos to Facebook at about 6 a.m. showing the entire central structure engulfed in flames, with most of the covering on the exterior walls already burned away. Sherman County Emergency Services posted additional photos and said the structure was a complete loss.
In a later update at around 9 a.m., the sheriff's office said the fire had been mostly put out and Sherman County volunteer fire crews were mopping up. Smoke could still be seen coming from the structure in subsequent photos that the sheriff's office added to the post around the same time.
Based on the photos from the sheriff's office, the fire heavily damaged the central building but apparently did not spread to either of the two adjacent gas pump areas.
The fire was initially reported at around 5 a.m., according to the sheriff's office, when a call came in reporting thick smoke in a dryer. The incident is being investigated by the Oregon State Fire Marshal's office, police said.
The travel center consisted of a large central building with a mini mart and a combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell behind an array of Chevron gas pumps, with an additional lineup of pumps for trucks off to one side. It also had a fried chicken restaurant, laundry room, driver lounge and shower, according to the TA Express website.
The travel center appears to have been built at some point in the past 7 years; Google Street View photos from 2016 show a dirt truck parking lot at the site. Biggs Junction is about 16 miles east of The Dalles along Interstate 84.