Hello,

Trees can grow at all sorts of rates and in shapes depending on the conditions they are in (water, nutrients at any given time, etc.), and in stands with many stems, the trunks tend to be smaller and grow more upright quickly as they compete for sun exposure and share nutrients with many other trees (historically forests in in the PNW were naturally thinned by fire events that have been largely absent due to modern suppression efforts). However, without a photo or more information, we can't ID a tree definitely. It sounds like from the information you've provided, they could indeed be Doug Firs, but they could also very well be something else. Doug Firs have a very distinct cone with a 3-pointed bract that is unlike the cones from other similar trees in this area--if these skinny trees have those cones, you can be assured they are indeed Doug Fir. 

I hope this info helps!

Autumn Ellison

OSU Forestry and Natural Resources Extension