4-alarm Queen Anne fire declared arson

The Seattle Fire Department announced that the 4-alarm fire at a lumber yard in north Queen Anne on Saturday was intentionally set.

RELATED: Four-alarm fire in North Queen Anne engulfs five buildings

Late Saturday night, a 4-alarm fire engulfed five buildings in north Queen Anne. Fire department spokeswoman Kristin Tinsley said firefighters Sunday put out hot spots at the three buildings and two sheds, mostly full of lumber owned by Gascoigne Lumber Company and Northwest Millworks.

The aftermath of the $4.6m Gascoigne Fire. Arson suspected. pic.twitter.com/iN7KKpz8Dp

— Mike Lewis (@MikeLew65) November 13, 2018

Several buildings on the neighboring Seattle Pacific University campus lost power during the fire, as several residences were evacuated.

The fire was the worst the city has seen in eight years, and was still smoldering three days later. In total, the structures affected by the fire totaled their losses at an estimated $4.3 million. All five buildings affected were completely destroyed.

In terms of the cause of the fire, investigators concluded that it was intentionally set, ruling it an arson. Seattle Police is now conducting its own follow-up investigation.

This occurred less than a mile away from another fire on Thursday, Nov. 8 at Elks Lodge #92. That fire was also ruled arson by investigators, and will close the lodge down for repairs for at least the next six months.

“It looks like somebody got some wood and put it near one of our entrances, then doused it in lighter fluid and then lit it,” Elks Lodge #92’s ‘exalted ruler’ Corbett Cummins told KIRO Radio’s Dori Monson. “You don’t put fire up against a door unless you’re trying to burn the door down.”

The proximity in both time and place have many wondering if there’s a link between the two fires.

“This early on, there is no way of indicating that, however both fires are still under investigation,” Seattle FD Public Information Officer Kristin Tinsley told KIRO Radio.

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