Sisters fires spark arson investigation

Six suspicious fires in the Sisters area have ignited more than some local acreage. They've also sparked the attention of the Central Oregon Arson Task Force.

"The frequency of fires in that short window of time raised a big red flag for us," said Ron Pugh, Resident Forest Special Agent and Task Force coordinator,

Five trained arson investigators took a close look at the burn sites. Principal agencies involved in the Task Force are the U.S. Forest Service, Deschutes County Sheriff's Office, Oregon State Police, Oregon Department of Forestry and several other local agencies, including the Sisters-Camp Sherman Rural Fire Protection District.

Sisters seems to be targeted.

"With one possible exception, the only suspicious fires that we've had this season have all been in the Sisters area; and that's very unusual," said Pugh.

He says that such happenings are more common in "south county" and during many years there are no suspicious fires at all around Sisters.

Four small fires were found and extinguished within just three days between Sisters and Tollgate along Highway 242.

Pugh credits alert citizens with preventing more serious damage.

In fact, he says, the public is its own best protector and has played a key role, not only in stopping the spread of fires, but in rounding up arsonists as well.

"We've caught a lot of arsonists here in Central Oregon -- more than most places," Pugh said.

They've caught 11, to be exact, since the task force was formed in 1992.

Arson has dropped off sharply since 1996, which -- as Pugh pointed out -- is also the year Aaron Groshong was arrested and imprisoned.

Groshong admitted to starting at least 35 fires, including the costly Awbrey Hall blaze. Investigators found a map in Groshong's home with red circles marking the locations of fires he set.

Groshong said there were probably more fires, but he just couldn't remember them all.

The Forest Service tallied only 10-12 suspected arson fires in Deschutes County last year, compared with 30-150 per year in the early 1990s.

"We've made a big dent in the problem," said Pugh. "The public has been great, in fact, the key to our success; and we want to keep that information flowing."

Pugh acknowledges that people are sometimes reluctant to call in a fire because they don't want to be embarrassed by an erroneous report.

He tells them not to worry.

He'd rather have 10 unnecessary calls than miss one critical fire report.

"Always call if you're not sure," he said.

A fast response not only gets the fire out sooner, it also gets the investigators on scene to process evidence while it's still fresh.

Pete Wanless, Chief of Detectives for the Deschutes County Sheriff's Office and task force co-coordinator has a lot of respect for the Forest Service agents.

"Arson is a serious crime, and the Forest Service has real expertise in fires," said Wanless. "They do a great job of finding the evidence, and we bring in detectives for the forensic work. It's a unique relationship."

The task force has trained over 200 members in evidentiary detection and preservation; 80 have completed a week-long course for primary investigators; and 15 have attended the two week National Academy for arson investigation.

The team has also developed innovative methods of evidence identification, marking and collection.

Suspected arson sites are carefully examined and photographed as part of the investigative process, and nothing escapes notice.

It's no wonder that, unless they stop, arsonists are eventually caught.

Thus far, sharp-eyed citizens and high moisture content in the woods have minimized losses from the local fires; but the fire danger is increasing.

Chuck Cook, Forest Dispatcher for the Central Oregon Inter-agency Dispatch Center (COIDC), describes the conditions at this point in the season as "normal."

"Live moisture content is still high," Cook reports.

"But," he said, "the forests are drying out rapidly, especially with the high winds we've had lately. We've already observed active, rapidly spreading fires that burn hot, so the fire danger is rising."

As the fire danger increases, so does the risk to property, homes, and lives.

"There's nothing that threatens the resources we're here to manage -- and the firefighters and people who could be caught in it -- as much as a wildland fire," Pugh said.

"I can't emphasize it enough," he said. "The fact that we've been able to make more arrests and save property is directly attributable to citizen assistance. The public is our biggest and best weapon against arsonists and fire."

As Pugh and the task force continue to sift through the evidence and nail down leads, they're calling for even more assistance from the public.

"We're very interested in any leads or information the public might have. Keep those calls coming!" says Pugh.

Contact the task force at 383-5510.