On Sunday, Aug. 11, Paul Cadd escaped from his house as it burned with only
his phone, wallet, the t-shirt on his back and his dog, Maggie, according to his
nephew, Brandon. Brandon added that the house was a 100 percent loss.
“Healthwise, both are doing fine,” Brandon said about his uncle and the dog,
noting that Paul is in search of short-term and long-term housing solutions.
Brandon added that the vision is to eventually rebuild on the site.

The Hoodland Fire District (HFD) got the call on that day at approximately
6:15 a.m. about the Welches house being fully engulfed in flames.

According to a press release, responders could see a large column of smoke in
the vicinity as they were in route, and Fire Chief John Ingrao upgraded the call
to a second alarm to ensure adequate resources.

When the responders reached the scene, 50 percent of the house was
engulfed in flames with a 26-foot travel trailer and a car directly adjacent to
the house starting to catch fire.

Firefighters immediately began aggressive fire attack methods as additional
resources arrived on scene, but due to the rural location and limited fire
hydrants, water had to be shuttled to the scene by multiple water tenders,
necessitating the temporary closing of Elk Park Road.

Firefighters battled the fire for approximately four hours and were able to
keep the fire contained to the one house and damage to the travel trailer and
car. One firefighter received a minor injury.

HFD was assisted on the call by Sandy Fire District, Estacada Fire District and
Clackamas Fire District.

HFD Fire Marshall Scott Kline noted that as of Monday, Aug. 26, no cause of
the fire had been determined, but he expected the investigation to be
completed in the near future.

In response to the tragedy, a spaghetti dinner and auction will be held to offer
community support and as a fundraiser from 3-7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 26, at
the Mount Hood Lions Club, at the corner of E. Hwy. 26 and Woodsey Way in
Welches. The cost is $12 per plate.

In preparation for the event, anyone who is interested in donating auction
items can contact Judi Sandsness at pineconesixgreen@frontier.com or
Brandon Cadd at bc.woodworks@yahoo.com.