A home in the Satellite neighborhood near Banks was gutted by flames

A home in the Satellite neighborhood near Banks was engulfed in flames Monday evening, drawing the Banks Fire District and nearby agencies to a large two-story residence to battle the flames.

The fire was quickly upgraded to a two-alarm, allowing additional resources to be dispatched to the scene. Banks Fire District spokesman Mitch Ward said a small field fire was also started by the house fire in a message to the Banks Post. By 9:15 p.m., Ward said the fire in the adjacent field had been extinguished.

Ward said about a half-acre burned as well as a section of arborvitaes on the south side of the house.

In a phone call with the Banks Post, nearby resident Jason Vandehey described flames coming from the large house, which was initially described by emergency services as being on Hartwick Drive, but photos of The scene shows that it was a house located near Star Street.

Vandehey said his wife first saw it and called 911 around 8 p.m.

“By the time the fire trucks arrived, the entire roof was mostly engulfed,” he said, while flames were coming from the south side of the house.

“The whole roof is engulfed and it looks like it's… black smoke coming out of the whole house, all the windows and all sides,” he said.

Then, a moment later, Vandehey, who was describing the details of the fire as it occurred around 8:30 p.m., described the collapse of the front of the house.

“Okay, the whole front of the house collapsed,” he said.

Banks Fire spokesman Mitch Ward said the agency did not yet have an update on the status of most of the home's occupants, but that a cat was rescued from the home.

Also assisting on scene were Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue, Hillsboro Fire & Rescue, Forest Grove Fire & Rescue, Gaston Fire District, the Washington County Sheriff's Office and, as a precaution, an AMR ambulance.

This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.