A Portland resident told Oregon Public Broadcasting that she witnessed a teenage boy throwing firecrackers into the Eagle Creek Canyon, where the Eagle Creek Fire is believed to have started.
“I saw this kid throw a smoke bomb — just lobbed it and dropped it down into the woods. … I saw him throw something that was on fire,” the woman, Liz FitzGerald, said. “Then we all looked over the edge and saw smoke. I said, ‘Do you realize how dangerous this is?’”
Oregon State Police Capt. Bill Fugate says the prime suspect in the Eagle Creek Fire is a 15-year-old boy who was playing with fireworks. He says evidence has been seized and the boy's parents have cooperated with detectives.
No charges have been filed.
Scroll down to see additional details.
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"Even though that kid threw the firecracker, all of those kids he was with are complicit," FitzGerald told Oregon Public Broadcasting of a group of teens. "All of them watched, all of them did nothing. They all were a part of it. One filmed it."
The growing blaze is east of Portland, Oregon in the scenic Columbia River Gorge. It is one of dozens of wildfires burning in western U.S. states that sent smoke into cities from Seattle to Denver. The fires have prompted health warnings and cancellations of outdoor activities for children by many school districts.
The 16-square mile fire east of Portland – the one that the 15-year-old is suspected of starting -- forced hundreds of home evacuations. Embers from the fire drifted in the air across the Columbia River and sparked blazes in neighboring Washington state.
Read additional wildfire coverage below.
PHOTOS: Ash falls across Western Washington.
Information from The Associated Press is included in this report.
Cox Media Group
