Youth charged for arson fire

, 2009

A 16-year-old boy faces a charge of first degree arson following a fire last Wednesday morning in Rosedale.

Cathlamet and District 4 firemen were dispatched to the home. Deputy Sheriff Mike Balch also responded and arrived before the firemen.

"The woman living there told me she had put it out," he said. "It was basically a smoke filled house."

Balch said firemen discovered two fire starts. Neither had taken off, and neither had obvious ignition sources. Because the youth was the only person to have been in both places, he was charged with arson, Balch said, and because there was another person in the house who was endangered, the charge became first degree arson.

The case will go to Wahkiakum Superior Court to determine whether or not the youth is tried as an adult.