Early Morning Fire Destroys Wenatchee Warehouse

Wenatchee Valley Firefighters responded to a warehouse fire early Monday morning.

Fire Breaks Out Before Dawn on Columbia Street

Get our free mobile app

Fire crews responded around 1:15 a.m. to the 800 block of S Columbia St in Wenatchee and found a brick and heavy timber construction building with heavy smoke throughout the basement and into the first floor, with flames erupting from the basement.

READ MORE: Othello Shop Fire Destroys Semi-Truck Shop

Crews Forced to Withdraw as Structure Burns

Shortly after attacking the blaze, firefighters had to withdraw from the building prior to completing a search for possible occupants. Crews switched to a defensive strategy to prevent the flames from spreading and fire officials say they were largely successful.

Excavator Deployed to Control Remaining Hotspots

An excavator will pull the building apart to completely extinguish the flames and mitigate any potential collapse. Officials expect this to last most of the day.

Chelan PUD recently acquired the building with plans to demolish it to make way for a new electrical substation. The PUD disconnected power from the building a while ago.

Unauthorized Entry Possibly Linked to Fire

Fire officials say there is evidence the building had numerous people making unauthorized entries and say there is a strong possibility this activity led to the fire, which remains under investigation.