Waterfront homes burn on Vashon Island

Firefighters battled flames that destroyed two waterfront homes and spread to trees on Vashon Island.

Dispatchers began receiving calls about the fire in the 19000 block of Sunset Road Southwest on the west side of the island about 2 a.m. Tuesday.

PHOTOS: Fire rips through homes on Vashon Island

Fire officials said access and terrain made the fires difficult to fight. The homes were located at the bottom of a steep hill, and there are no hydrants in the area, so fire crews were reliant on tenders, or fire trucks designed to transport water, to fight the flames.

Trucking water to a fire is a much slower process than using a hydrant, so a Tacoma fire boat was called in to help get the flames under control.

By 6:30 a.m., the fire was mostly out, but smoke was still billowing and hot spots continued to flare.

No one was hurt. One of the homeowners was home when the fire started, but was able to escape. The other home that caught fire was empty.

Crews remained at the fire scene more than 10 hours after the flames broke out.

Both homes were burned to the ground.

The cause of the fire has not been determined.

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