On July 2, just east of BNSF Railway Tunnel 5 in Skamania County, a blaze eventually designated as the Tunnel 5 Fire was ignited.
Burning adjacent to heavily traveled Washington State Route 14 in the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area, the fire consumed more than 500 acres and destroyed 10 structures, most of them private residences.
Now a state of Washington Department of Natural Resources wildland fire investigation report obtained by Columbia Insight has pinpointed debris from brakes and carbon emission particles from a BNSF locomotive engine as the cause of the blaze.
“A BNSF train travelled through the origin area of the Tunnel 5 fire at aprx 1053 to 1100 hours on Sunday, 07/02/23,” reads the DNR report.