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Yurok
Tribal Office set ablaze
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| by
Kara D. Machado |
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| Yurok
Tribal Police officials are seeking information with regard to an
arson that caused several thousands of dollars in damage to a
million-dollar tribal facility in Weitchpec Tuesday. Davis Parris, Yurok Tribal Police chief, said an unidentified male is suspected of starting the fire early Tuesday morning on an outdoor decking area of the Weitchpec Yurok Tribal Office. No one was injured in the incident, a Yurok police official confirmed Wednesday. Parris said a surveillance camera caught the suspect approaching the facility at about “(He) went underneath the back deck area, off the back toward the river, and attempted to use some sort of an ignition source and it was actually started on fire,” Parris said. When maintenance personnel arrived at the building for work at about “They walked in through the building, didn’t see anything and went on the outside deck and saw that the deck was on fire, right up against the building,” Parris said. “(We’re) very lucky that the maintenance people came when they did because (the fire) would have been undetected until someone drove by — it’s a very rural area out there.” Parris said both the Weitchpec and Hoopa Volunteer Fire departments responded to the fire, which was ultimately contained. Although an exact monetary amount had not been determined as of Wednesday, Parris said the damage is in the range of several thousands of dollars. “There was smoke damage, of course,” Parris said, “and the fire department came in and had to, unfortunately, go into the exterior walls to get to where the fire was.” The California Department of Forestry assisted with the investigation to determine the cause and origin of the fire, Parris said. “With their assistance, we determined it to be arson,” Parris said. Parris said the fire could have been caused anytime between “But, in any event, it was detected at “Our concern is that this is an extremely rural area and we are asking for members of the reservation, as well as anyone else driving on Highway 96, to call if they saw anyone suspicious out there (at the tribal building) during the (4 a.m. to 5:30 a.m.) time period.” To report any information on the incident, phone Parris or another Yurok Tribal Police official at 707-482-8185. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, any copyrighted material herein is distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml |