Firefighters and police ran fire extinguishers along a railroad to reach a brush fire after someone reported an explosion Thursday evening, May 11, near a North Albany grocery store.
Responders blamed a transient camp for a fire near the 900 block of Troon Street Northwest, just off a set of rail tracks near North Albany IGA.
Albany fire and police officials respond to a 400-square-foot brush fire Thursday, May 11, 2023, in North Albany, after someone reported an explosion at the scene.
Someone called 911 around 6:22 p.m. May 12 to report an explosion. Albany fire officials said the fire was about 400 square feet, burning in brush and trees about 1,000 feet east of one of the neighborhood’s two major north-south roadways.
By about 6:40 p.m., firefighters were strategizing how to get a specialized wildland fire truck onto the property abutting the rails.
Police cordoned off a lane of North Albany Road, directing northbound traffic onto Northwest Hickory Street and around the rail crossing where firefighters were staging.
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An Albany Fire Department firefighter crosses a creek on a rail bridge while carrying a fire extinguisher to burning brush Thursday, May 11, 2023, in North Albany. Police and fire officials rushed to the scene where someone reported the fire as an explosion. Emergency responders said the blaze was about 400 square feet, blaming a nearby encampment for the fire.
Albany Fire Department sent three firetrucks, plus an ambulance and battalion chief. Firefighters finished mopping up the fire in about an hour and 20 minutes.
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Alex Powers (he/him) covers agri-business, Benton County, environment and city of Lebanon for Mid-Valley Media. Call 541-812-6116 or tweet @OregonAlex.