Rural arson and wildfires in the Pacific Northwest

[Yung]

Pierce County declares state of emergency to get help fighting wildfires
https://www.thenewstribune.com/news/...245597750.html

Who are the arsonists setting rural fires in Washington State?
https://www.wethegoverned.com/who-ar...hington-state/

Oregon wildfire updates: Clackamas County imposes curfew, police dispute rumor that antifa started wildfires
https://www.statesmanjournal.com/sto...ad/3458265001/

https://www.kiro7.com/news/local/pol...LJZEJGMIS3L5Q/

Puyallup police and state troopers arrested a 36-year-old Puyallup man Wednesday for allegedly starting a large brushfire which temporarily shut down state Route 167 and several ramps near Meridian Avenue.

A man with the exact same name as the one police arrested recorded a Facebook live of that fire saying he reported it to first responders.

In Graham, a person was seen intentionally setting fire to a field in front of a business in the 10400 block of 229th St E. early Wednesday morning.
“This was one hundred percent intentional, there is zero doubt,” Said Jonas Pettit, the owner of Vac Tech Septic and Water.
Surveillance shows the suspect drive up, dumping gasoline and a match, setting fire to dry grass next to the business.

https://twitter.com/AK4WA/status/1303805352329142273

Graham, WA fire start...watch the vehicle driving away in the top right...

https://www.khq.com/news/arson-suspe...f5dca5965.html

According to Spokane Police, Officer Mohondro arrived on scene he saw some grass and a pallet on fire outside of a commercial business. SPD said there were no power lines around and there did not seem to be a reason for the start of the fire unless it was human caused.

The same officer spotted another fire a few blocks away. Officer Mohondro asked for more units to respond to the area to look for a suspect.

Police detained 36-year-old Christine Comello.
Comello lied about her name to police but it was later discovered she had a warrant for her arrest.
According to SPD, witnesses later identified Comello as the arson suspect.

https://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-n...uties-say.html

A 44-year-old man was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of arson in a wildfire that has burned nearly 400 acres and prompted evacuations west of Eugene, deputies say.

Elias Newton Pendergrass is accused of first-degree arson in the Sweet Creek Milepost 2 fire, which covers 382 acres near the community of Mapleton. Pendergrass, a Mapleton resident, is being held in the Lane County Jail.

https://nbc16.com/news/local/man-see...ire-chief-says

Firefighters responded Wednesday to someone attempting to start fires at Dexter State Recreation Area, the fire chief said in a social media post.
Peterson said a middle-aged man with arm tattoos was seen "lighting two fires in the bushes as you turn towards the dam."

The chief said "several good Samaritans extinguished the fire prior to our arrival."

He asked the public to be on the lookout for a man with a black German Shepherd driving a green Ford or Chevy SUV. Anyone with information about the man is asked to contact law enforcement.

https://www.oregonlive.com/crime/202...hief-says.html

Authorities are investigating the Almeda fire as an arson after discovering human remains in Ashland, the city police chief said.

The Jackson County’s Major Assault/Death Investigation Unit is investigating the nature of the death of the person found, according to Ashland Police Chief Tighe O’Meara.

“One thing I can say is that the rumor it was set by Antifa is 100% false information,” the police chief said by email. “We have some leads, and none of it points in that direction.”

https://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-n...an-caused.html

A group of wildfires in Lincoln County have burned more than 2,400 acres, state fire officials reported, more than doubling in size in the last 24 hours.

A shift to southwesterly winds away from Lincoln City has helped firefighters make progress, officials said, though the fire remains uncontained. The winds have pushed the fire spread back toward areas already burned and away from the denser population center of Lincoln City.

The state Office of Emergency Management reported the fire was caused by human activity, as opposed to lightning or other natural ignition sources. However, the state Forestry Department considers the cause to still be under investigation, Lertora said.

[Yung]

Some of you guys are up there. Perhaps a roll call/status updates?

[Duelist]

Wow, that’s ugly. But, sadly, not surprising.

[RJ]

This is really disturbing.

Here in FL we have Hurricanes, but at least you have some warning they are coming. One hot dry summer when I was living in Orlando, there were significant wildfires to the East up and down the coast. We had the smell of ash and smoke in town. It was very unnerving. I can't imagine what these folks are going through in California, Oregon and Washington.

But to have one or more assholes deliberately set fires? For Political purposes? That is unbelievable. Just unbelievable.

[whomever]

"But to have one or more assholes deliberately set fires? For Political purposes?"

ISTM people are jumping the gun a bit to describe these as political.

For example, look at the SR 167 one. That sounds a lot more like a mental case to me ... SR167 is a well traveled urban freeway. Setting a fire in the median (as reported elsewhere) of a busy freeway, then posting about it, isn't really the action of a moderately intelligent terrorist.

There was another local incident that I have seen on other blog's list of 'antifa lighting the west on fire!!!!!!!' that is rather more 'long term local firebug lighting vacant lots in town on fire again'.

I recall some apocalyptic novel from a few years ago where Arab terrorists wait for the wrong weather and drive around the west strategically lighting fires, and that's a bad thing to think about, but the current allegations seem ... thin.

[Cookie Monster]

The current Siege of ‘20 is the result of extreme conditions (drought and wind event), lack of firefighting resources, and lack of fire planning - houses that burn and removal of fire from the landscape.

My family is good, we’re in a good spot on the landscape. I am finally hitting the line this morning on a 2,000 acre fire in my area - it’s small potatoes to what is happening in Oregon and California.

This is a problem brewing for 100 years, not the current rage culture/conflicts.

[okie john]

I'm on high ground in Pierce County, WA. Our summers are hot and dry, despite our reputation for rain, and this one has been significantly hotter and drier than usual. More important, this year's heat and lack of rain started earlier and have lasted longer than usual. A highly unusual wind storm on 08 SEP dropped big trees and limbs, which in turn dropped power lines. This hampered movement and cut power in areas all over northern Pierce County and southern King County for roughly 24 hours. I believe that the fallen power lines may have started some of the fires. Higher-than-normal winds continued for 24-36 hours after the storm and contributed to the spread of several fires.

Fires within 10 miles of us have destroyed homes and caused evacuations but do not yet pose a risk to our specific area. That could change quickly, especially if the arsons continue. The whole area smells like a cheap motel room that was recently converted to non-smoking. We have cooler weather in the forecast and some clouds, but no rain. We've also been told to stay indoors and avoid strenuous activity.

Speaking of arson, the fires are much closer to my buddies in Multnomah, Clackamas, and Washington counties in Oregon. Their summers are hotter, drier, and longer than ours. Some of the arsons are committed by people hoping to loot homes after their owners were ordered to evacuate. My friends haven't lost anything, but it's been touch and go--they run lawn sprinklers 24 hours a day and have put lawn sprinklers on their roofs. Several of their neighbors, family members, and friends have lost structures or had homes and buildings looted/burglarized. Per a text thread, "Total count of 9 arrested in 5 groups attempting to loot in the Estacada area today."

The ash is heavy enough that it turns the entire day into dusk: one guy's chickens started to roost at 1630 and he had to turn on work lights to get them to go out and water/feed

Other than that, deer season starts in five weeks, my 308 is properly zeroed for a good load, and it's time to work on offhand.


Okie John

[Clusterfrack]

We are in a wooded Portland neighborhood, with go bags packed. If fire breaks out, it’s unlikely that there are sufficient PFD resources to fight it.

I’m guessing some of the fires will turn out to have been from homeless campfires. This has been an ongoing issue, and there has been little effort to enforce a burn ban on all the folks living in the woods.

[Yung]

This has been an ongoing issue, and there has been little effort to enforce a burn ban on all the folks living in the woods.

You guys still do controlled burns up there though, don't you?

[Seven_Sicks_Two]

I know that it might be tempting to ascribe the fires raging all over the West Coast to a coordinated group of left-wing terrorists... but I really doubt that is the case.

The commies around here seem to be more into the idea of "performative" revolutionary violence. They throw water bottles at cops to pat themselves on the back for having the right opinions; they don't set three states on fire. Would I put it past one of them to set a fire? No. Do I think these organizations are issuing orders to their minions to go burn down Molalla? Also no.

Seemingly every fire season arsonists get arrested. I'd chalk this one up to run of the mill fire bugs and not an elaborate Antifa plot.