FORKS – A Sunday fire that destroyed an old control tower at the Quillayute Airport 10 miles from Forks is being investigated as a possible arson, it was reported on Monday.
The investigation is expected to span most of the week, said Deputy Bill Cortani, of Clallam County Sheriff’s Department, which is the lead agency in the investigation.
Investigators don’t know how the fire ignited, but they have ruled out several ways a fire could have been sparked.
“It didn’t have power hooked up at the time, so that wasn’t a cause,” Cortoni said.
“We also had someone look at the lightning registers, and that doesn’t seem to be a likely cause.”
The 2:30 a.m. fire broke out on one of the top two floors, said Bryan Swanberg of Clallam County Fire Department District No. 3 in Sequim who, along with Lawrence Bingham of the Sequim department, is aiding the investigation.
Three floors of the control tower burned before it was put out shortly before daybreak.
The control tower is connected to the hangar, but Clallam County Fire District No. 6, with assistance from district No. 1 and the LaPush Fire Department, quenched the flames before they reached the hangar and the planes within, said Dennis Johnson, fire commissioner for district No. 6.
Three or four planes were in the hangar, said Rod Fleck, the city of Forks’ attorney.
The airport, a former Naval Auxiliary Air Station built in the 1940s, is owned by the city of Forks.
Before the local investigation can proceed, an insurance investigator must examine the remains of the building, Swanberg said.
That’s expected to occur later this week, he said.
Fleck said that, once the insurance investigator completes an inspection of the damage, the city will decide how much will be rebuilt.
