A Monday morning fire at an abandoned home in rural Clark County is being investigated as a crime.
According to Deputy Clark County Fire Marshal Caleb Barnes, the fire in the area of Northeast 72nd Avenue and JR Anderson Road appears to have been started intentionally.
Clark County Fire & Rescue crews were dispatched about 6 a.m. Monday to the two-story home east of La Center.
A passer-by told dispatchers that someone was using a hose to spray water on the fire. But when the first fire engine arrived eight minutes later, no one was in the area of the house, which was fully engulfed in flames, Fire Chief John Nohr told The Columbian earlier this week.
There was overgrown vegetation surrounding the home, and the grounds around the building were unkempt, Nohr said.
Firefighters searched the house’s first floor but retreated as the fire was spreading quickly. They noted the house was empty and in poor condition.