Teen Susepcted of Starting Massive Wildfire in Oregon, Forces Evacuations

As of Wednesday morning, police had not announced any arrests or charges and had not released the identity of the suspect.

Dozens of wildfires are creating havoc from Montana to California, forcing thousands of residents to evacuate as others across the northwest face health hazards from the intense smoke.

Since it began over the weekend, the Eagle Creek Fire has merged with a second blaze, called the Indian Creek Fire.

Fire officials say an OR wildfire in the scenic Columbia River Gorge has grown to almost 16 square miles and is threatening homes.

The fire, believed to be caused by teenagers using fireworks last Saturday, is only about 7 percent contained, officials said.

Fugate said the charges the teen could be facing could vary depending on if his intent was to start a fire or if this turns out to be a case of evidence, which is part of the ongoing investigation.

On her way, she passed the spot where she’d seen the fireworks thrown.

The Eagle Creek Fire had grown to nearly five square miles by Sunday.

The Spokesman-Review reports that the hikers banded together to ensure nobody was left behind, and that when one person struggled, the group would stop to provide assistance.

“The air quality is definitely looking much better”, Miller said Tuesday.

“I saw this kid throw a smoke bomb – just lobbed it and dropped it down into the woods”.

“Massive amounts of smoke was billowing up and I could smell that something was on fire”, she said.

“You can’t really stand outside without getting rained on” by ash, Fisher said. L.J. Brown of Bureau of Land Management Fire Operations said that resources were still in short supply with some student firefighters going back to college.

“What are we supposed to do about it now?” The most problematic thing about the Eagle Creek Fire is that it was completely avoidable.

Fitzgerald got into the officer’s auto, and the pair chased the teens’ vehicle. The witness says the teen was with other teens and young adults and added that one of them was filming it.

“I didn’t run down to alert the authorities in order to ‘make the kids pay, ‘” said Fitzgerald of the incident.

Evaluate bridges and tunnels: Our Bridge Inspectors are working to evaluate the bridges on I-84 to ensure that structural damage did not occur in the fire.