Investigators seek public’s help in 2016 church fires

Published 1:30 am Saturday, September 30, 2017

Associated Press

VANCOUVER — Three churches in Clark County were deliberately burned more than a year ago and fire investigators are turning to the public for help.

Oregon Public Broadcasting reported that authorities released photos and videos of a suspect in the series of church arsons.

Authorities are offering a $20,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and prosecution of those responsible for the fires.

The first of three church fires began May 25, 2016, at the First Congregational Church of Christ in Hazel Dell. The church estimates the fire causes at $4 million in damage.

The next day, a fire was intentionally set at Liberty Bible Church of the Nazarene at Salmon Creek.

A third fire was reported a few days later. That blaze damaged a building owned by Daybreak Youth Services in Brush Prairie, a former Bethesda Slavic Church that was transitioning into a youth addiction center.