Walla Walla sees 6 suspicious fires in recent weeks

They happen late at night, or in the early morning. They’re set in junkyards or other industrial lots. They burn cars, scrap and abandoned buildings. And they take hours to put out. 

In the past six weeks, six suspicious fires have broken out in the northwest part of Walla Walla. While they haven’t hurt anyone yet, Fred Hector, Walla Walla’s deputy fire chief, said they are still taking a toll.

“In a community as small as ours, a fire like this depletes our entire resources,” Hector said. “All these fires have been very labor intensive. They take a long time to put out because there’s so much on fire.” 

Hector said the fires are in locations that are difficult to access, which makes them risky for the firefighters.

When crews are busy responding to such big fires, it hampers their ability to quickly respond to medical calls. Walla Walla has relied on neighboring departments to help fill the gaps. It also has had to call in off-duty firefighters to run additional rigs. 

“We don’t like to see our community suffer,” Hector said. “It is emotionally draining to us as firefighters.” 

The city’s police and fire departments suspect an arsonist is starting the fires. 

“There’s no legitimate reason for there to be a fire in those places at that time,” Hector said. “There’s not electricity to these places. They’re also spreading rapidly,” 

According to the fire department, that fast spread could signify the use of an accelerant, such as gasoline. 

Because the fires have been so similar in terms of timing and location, Hector believes the same person may be responsible for all of them. He doesn’t think the fires are connected to similar ones that burned last summer. 

So far, there’s no discernible motive for setting the fires.

Although Hector said the police and fire departments are working several leads, an arson investigation is difficult because most of the evidence gets burned. 

“It is going to take some help from our community to help apprehend this person,” he said.

He urged anyone with information to call the department’s nonemergency line at 509-527-1960. Tipsters could qualify for part of a $10,000 reward.