Arson suspected in spate of wildfires

Saturday, August 24, 2002

By LINDA ASHTON
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

NACHES -- Arson is suspected in about 20 wildfires, most of them started in the past two weeks, east of Mount Rainier, federal authorities said yesterday.

"It's just a matter of time -- if it continues, we'll have a major disaster," said Sonny O'Neal, supervisor for the Okanagon and Wenatchee national forests.

The largest of the wildfires, the 2,286-acre Oak Creek II fire, burned to within a mile of Tieton Middle School, 15 miles west of Yakima, before it was contained Aug. 16. There were no injuries or structures damaged in any of the blazes.

The fires have been in Yakima and Kittitas counties, and most have been in drainages along state Route 410, the east-west highway across Chinook Pass, and U.S. 12, the east-west route across White Pass.

The suspicious fires probably date back about a month, but most have occurred in the past two weeks, said Paul Hart, a spokesman for the two national forests in Central Washington.

As many as 12 fires appear to have been set in a day, often in areas where people would not typically go, said Gary Berndt, of the Department of Natural Resources in Ellensburg. Most have been set in the late evening or early morning, possibly with a cigarette lighter or other flaming material, Berndt and O'Neal said.

Two fires were started yesterday. Both were snuffed quickly, burning less than an acre, as has been the case with most of the other fires.

Arson is suspected in some of the largest fires in the West this year. A Forest Service employee was charged with arson in the biggest wildfire in Colorado history. She has been fired.

In New Mexico, a federal Bureau of Indian Affairs forestry technician has been indicted in six fires. In Arizona, a contract firefighter is accused of starting a fire on the Fort Apache Reservation that would merge with another blaze to become the largest wildfire in the state's history.

All three people have pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Investigators believe one or possibly two people could be responsible for the central Washington fires, and the possibility that it could be a firefighter has not been ruled out, O'Neal said.

An arson prevention task force has been formed. It includes representatives of the DNR, the Forest Service, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the National Park Service and the Bureau of Land Management.

A reward of as much as $10,000 is being offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction in the fires. The cost of fighting the central Washington fires has been about $1 million.

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