Investigations continueinto arson fires

Law enforcement authorities are investigating their second arson fire to occur in Wahkiakum County within eight days.

Officers have been looking for leads into who set a fire in the bleachers at the Wahkiakum High School football stadium on March 18.

On Sunday, a long vacant house on Altoona-Pillar Rock Road burned in a fire that is also suspected of being arson.

The old house, a landmark because of its high garage doors just across the road from the Grays River, had been unoccupied for years, said Wahkiakum County Deputy Sheriff Hans York. There was no power or heat in the building, which is owned by Duane Kraxburger of Canby, Ore.

According to Grays River Fire Chief Gene Strong, the fire was reported about 4:29 a.m.

"The house had burned to the ground by the time we got there, so there wasn't much to do but mop up," he said Tuesday.

Strong estimated the fire had been burning at least an hour by the time firemen arrived, for only cinderblocks and the chimney were standing.

Fire investigators are examining the site, but extent of the damage will make it hard to determine the cause of the fire.

Meanwhile, investigators have determined the cause of the WHS bleacher fire, but York wouldn't release it for publication.

A lack of solid information is hampering that investigation, he said.

"People have told us they saw people leaving the area, but no one has given us any names," York said.

Damage to the structure may reach $60,000 and require a new roof, Superintendent Bob Garrett said last week.