Emergency Crime Scene and Biohazard Cleanup in Hazel Dell, WA

Hazel Dell is an unincorporated census-designated place in Clark County directly north of Vancouver; the Census Bureau first mapped it as a single CDP in the 2010 census, merging the former Hazel Dell North and Hazel Dell South CDPs.

Oregon Country pioneers Reese and Sarah J. Anderson were Hazel Dell's first settlers; Sarah named the area for a stand of filberts (hazelnuts) on their land near 78th Street and Highway 99 and donated the land for its first school, where Hazel Dell Elementary School now stands.

Early residents briefly considered renaming the place 'Bear Gulch,' and local merchant Basil Dhanens politely declined a later proposal to call it 'Basilville' in his honor.

Hazel Dell and neighboring Minnehaha were among the first suburban areas developed outside Vancouver after World War II, but the community remained farm and dairy country along Interstate 5 and Highway 99 into the early 1970s.

The Clark County 78th Street Heritage Farm preserves that agricultural past: it served as the county poor farm from the late 1800s to the late 1940s and as Washington State University's Vancouver research and extension unit until 2008, and today hosts community farming partners including the Clark County Food Bank and WSU Extension.

Interstate 5 bisects Hazel Dell, with access from exits 4 and 5; the CDP is bounded by Vancouver and Burnt Bridge Creek on the south and Salmon Creek on the north and covers about 4.85 square miles.

The 2020 census counted 23,569 residents and 9,272 households in Hazel Dell, up from 19,435 people in 2010, making it one of the largest unincorporated communities in Washington.

Every third Saturday in May since 1964, Hazel Dell has staged the Parade of Bands along Highway 99, an event started by the family that owned the old Steakburger Drive-in.

Its parks include Hazel Dell Community Park, Jorgenson Park, Tenny Creek Neighborhood Park (developed in 2007), and the Kate and Clarence LaLonde Neighborhood Park.

Most of Hazel Dell lies in Vancouver Public Schools — its three elementary schools are Hazel Dell, Sacajawea, and Sarah J. Anderson — and Columbia River High School stands within the CDP; its teams renamed themselves the Rapids in 2021 after dropping the Chieftains name.