Stimson Lumber debarker building near Hagg Lake damaged in fire

A building at the Stimson Lumber Mill near Hagg Lake was heavily damaged in a fire Saturday, the Gaston Rural Fire District said.

According to the fire agency, crews were dispatched to reports of a fire just after 3:30 p.m. at the mill.

"On arrival, fire crews made contact with Stimson personnel who were actively fighting a fire in the debarker building," Gaston Fire said in a social media post made late Saturday night.

Once power was cut to the building, fire crews were able to quickly extinguish the fire.

"No injuries were reported but, unfortunately, parts of the building were heavily damaged," Gaston Fire said.

The cause of the fire is under investigation, but appeared to be electrical in nature.

The agency thanked nearby agencies who came to the aid of the smaller fire agency, including crews from Forest Grove Fire & Rescue, Hillsboro Fire & Rescue, the Cornelius Fire Department, the Washington County Sheriff's Office, and AMR.

"We'd also like to thank Tualatin Valley Fire and Rescue E19 for staffing our district while we were busy at the mill," the agency added.

Forest Grove Fire & Rescue said that their response to the fire meant that crews from Banks Fire District 13 were the main responding agency at a fire in Gales Creek. Meanwhile, Banks Crews were responding to a fatal crash between Timber and Elsie.