PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — An indoor bike park in Northeast Portland reopened just days after a massive 4-alarm grass fire threatened to destroy it.
The blaze raced down a hillside and licked up the walls of the Lumberyard on Northeast 82nd Avenue on Monday.
It charred the exterior of the building and, after fire crews brought it under control, left behind smoke and water damage.
But disaster was averted for the popular indoor park, which also houses a restaurant and pub.
A concrete wall helped stop the flames. Winds also aided in turning the fire from the building — sending it instead to a parking lot where dozens of cars were torched. From there, the fire spread to a handful of townhomes, destroying one, along with a nearby non-profit gym.
The owners of the Lumberyard had a lot to clean up when all was said and done.
“We had to dust all the ash off everything,” said Claire Heiberg, whose father owns the Lumberyard. “It was a lot of cleaning and refolding and getting the smoke smell out of here.”
But they’re thankful just to have a building to clean.
“I feel a lot of relief,” Heiberg said. “We were seeing videos and it looked like the whole place was going to burn down to the ground.”
On Thursday, the Lumberyard was once again a bustling hub of 2-wheeled activity.
Heiberg said the indoor BMX and mountain biking park is like “a second home” for some of their customers. “It gives them a place to be creative, in a way.”
The Lumberyard is also beloved by its employees, like Andi Stotz, who feared the fire would destroy the place he only just started working at 2 months ago.
“It was insane. I didn’t believe it was happening,” Stotz said. “It felt like I lost my job, my favorite place.”
The Lumberyard’s owners set up a GoFundMe to raise money for the people living in the townhomes that were damaged.