Villa Road Trestle Catches Fire Early Sunday; Cause Under Investigation

NEWBERG, Ore. — In the early morning hours of Sunday, June 29, area residents awoke to a faint orange glow and the sound of fire crews as flames consumed a portion of the train trestle spanning Villa Road.

Emergency calls reporting the fire came in around 2:54 a.m., prompting a response from Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue and the Newberg-Dundee Police Department who arrived on scene at 3:02 a.m. 16 units responded, including fire engines, brush rigs, command vehicles, incident support units, and two units from the Dundee Fire Department, according to TVF&R Public Information Officer Stefan Myers.

Firefighters arrived to find the south side of the structure and the portion directly over the road fully involved. Crews contained the blaze before it could spread further north.

Residents from both sides of the tracks — Chehalem Pointe Apartments to the north and Carol Ann Drive to the south — captured the fire on video.

Corey Fotre, who lives in Chehalem Pointe, said he woke in the middle of the night and noticed an orange glow on his ceiling.

“It was a surreal experience,” Fotre said. “That bridge is made out of pitch-soaked timbers, so the blaze spread rapidly. When we opened the window, we felt intense heat despite being over 100 yards away. Before I ran outside to move our car away from the blaze, I noticed that treetops were beginning to catch fire. It was horrifically impressive how quickly and intensely the fire moved.”

Despite the dry conditions, Fotre said he felt the apartment complex was well protected and praised the quick response by fire and police personnel.

Newberg-Dundee Police Department Detective Ariel Siqueiros said a few nearby homes were temporarily evacuated but residents were allowed to return within the hour. The fire was determined to be controlled by 3:45 a.m. and crews stayed on site until 6 a.m. to put out any hot spots.

“There was a significant risk to nearby homes and in particular an adjacent apartment complex,” Myers said. “Fire units were assigned to protect those structures and evacuations were considered. Luckily, firefighters had a quick response to the fire and their tactics prevented the need for evacuations.”

Corinne Tate, who lives next to the trestle, said she woke around 3 a.m. when police knocked on her door and told her to evacuate.

“I heard a few sirens, but we live on Villa — there are always things going on,” Tate said. “Then I heard ‘bang, bang, bang’ on the door and saw flashing lights in the window. I opened the door, and it was just a wall of fire.”

Tate, who also maintains the flower beds and gardens on Villa Road, said she and her husband, Tom, were out the door within five minutes. They drove up the hill to a George Fox University parking lot and then walked back down to observe the scene.

By the time they returned, the flames were nearly extinguished.

“They were really on top of it,” she said. “It was a really, really amazing job.”

Tate said the wind was relatively calm but blowing south toward the Friendsview senior living community. Some residents reported finding burned debris as far as Grocery Outlet near downtown Newberg.

“If they hadn’t gotten the fire under control as quickly as they did, things could have been so much worse,” she said.

Crews remained on-site Monday, clearing contaminated soil and debris. Villa Road was closed to through traffic from Sunday through Monday and is scheduled to reopen Tuesday morning. The steel structure over the road was deemed structurally sound by railroad officials, according to Siquieros.

The railroad line is owned by Portland & Western Railroad, a subsidiary of Genesee & Wyoming Railroad Services Inc., according to the Oregon Department of Transportation. 

Siquieros said the police department is working with Oregon State Police, TVF&R, the FBI, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) to determine the cause of the fire.

“Everyone is speculating,” Tate said. “Some people think it was fireworks, or a cigarette butt, or something else. I just really hope someone didn’t do this on purpose.”

This is the second area train trestle fire this month. On June 16, a trestle in Salem caught fire and was quickly extinguished.

Siquieros said the investigation is in its early stages. Police deployed drones during and after the fire to search for potential evidence. The department is asking residents with information, photos, security camera footage or other evidence to contact the nonemergency line, email police@newbergoregon.gov, or message the department on Facebook.

Myers encourages residents to use this incident as a reminder of the importance of early detection and notification. He also encourages residents to sign up for local alerts via the city alert system and county alert system.

Representatives from Portland & Western Railroad were not available for comment by press time.

Update July 1 at 8:28 a.m.—Added information and quotes from Stefan Myers of Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue.