A homeless Winlock man accused of starting a fire in an abandoned outbuilding off of Harkins Road in South Lewis County that ultimately burned about 2 acres of brush on Thursday has been arrested.
The fire was reported at 10:56 a.m. on Thursday, Aug. 8, according to Lewis County 911 Communications records.
Firefighters with the Department of Natural Resources responded alongside the Winlock and Toledo fire departments to contain and extinguish the blaze.
At the time, a fire official told The Chronicle the fire began in an abandoned house and that transients were seen leaving the area in a white van as the fire was reported on Thursday morning. At least one suspect was known to authorities, who were searching for the van on Thursday afternoon, according to previous Chronicle reporting.
While crews were still working on extinguishing the fire, a firefighter reportedly “contacted a male who said he started the fire,” according to charging documents filed in Lewis County Superior Court on Friday.
In a statement to a Lewis County Sheriff’s Office deputy, the male, identified as TJ Carson Lee Davis, 26, said he stayed at a gas station the night prior, but “he became cold and walked over to the field and the shed,” located in the 170 block of Harkins Road.
“Davis noticed the shed was open and decided to stay there for the night,” according to court documents.
Davis allegedly said “he started a fire in the shed to stay warm and threw a couple cigarettes on the ground before he fell asleep,” but said “he thought he put the fire out” before he fell asleep.
Davis told the deputy “he woke up to the sound of helicopters in the area and decided to walk away further into the field because he felt scared,” according to court documents.
When he saw firefighters working to contain the fire, Davis said, “he decided to come back and speak to them about what happened.”
The fire ultimately destroyed the shed, spread to the field and “engulfed some timbers on the ground,” according to court documents, which indicate a countywide burn ban has been in place since July 10.
No injuries resulting from the fire were reported.
“While this (fire) was marginally combined to an outbuilding, it could have spread easily due to the conditions,” Deputy Prosecutor Paul Masiello said during Davis’ preliminary hearing for a first-degree reckless burning charge on Friday, Aug. 9.
Davis was arrested and booked into the Lewis County Jail at 4:15 p.m. on Aug. 8.
While Masiello recommended that Davis’ bail be set at $25,000, Judge Joely Yeager ultimately granted defense attorney Rachael Tiller’s request for a lower bail, setting the bail at $5,000.
As reasons for the low bail, Yeager acknowledged Davis’ cooperation with law enforcement, his financial status and the fact that he allegedly started the fire to stay warm, “which I am not condoning in any way,” she said Friday.
Arraignment is scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 15.
