A fire that damaged the historic brick brewhouse on the Deschutes River below Tumwater Falls Saturday night appears to have been intentionally set, a city official said Sunday.
There’s no power to the building, spokeswoman Ann Cook said, which rules out an electrical fire.
Investigators are looking into the cause and origins of the fire, searching for chemicals used to accelerate the fire and burn patterns. The first fire crews on the scene Saturday night reported the “strong smell of spray paint,” she said.
About 9:30 p.m. Saturday, Tumwater fire was dispatched to the old brewhouse after reports of smoke emanating from the tower.
Fire crews found two small fires on two separate floors inside the tower, and a fire in an adjacent building. Using water from the Deschutes River, the fire was extinguished about 12:45 a.m. Sunday.