Last week, the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office indicted two 18-year-old boys on felony arson charges.
Sam Perkins and Malik Hares are suspected of starting at least 36 fires on Mount Tabor during the summer.
Fire investigators remain tight-lipped about the ongoing investigation, and the suspects are out of custody and living with their parents until their next court appearance in early October. The gravity of the fires is underscored by time and place. It’s the city’s hottest summer on record; in early September, when most of the fires were lit, the city was approaching a red flag warning—meaning fires were especially dangerous in the biggest urban forest in Southeast Portland.