Update (02-23, 2:15pm): During a press conference on Tuesday, investigators determined the cause of the fire at the Butte Creek Mill to be accidental. They say that based upon observable patterns and scene date, as well as eyewitness interviews, the fire appears to have originated in a concealed space above the west side of the milling room.
Investigators say heat was generated by an electrical malfunction, which lead to the ignition of a smoldering fire. The fire spread slowly in the space between the first and second floors until the structural members collapsed. The exposed wood structure of the mill ignited easily and the fire grew rapidly.
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Eagle Point, Ore.– Fire marshals, state police and insurance agents were all on scene together taking in the damage from the fire two weeks ago today.
Their goal was to assess how bad the damage is to the building in order to continue their investigation into the cause of the fire, safely. Fire District 3 Public Information Officer, Ashley Lara, explains what the goal of today was.
“Today was about making a plan as a group and figuring out when we can go in and and really start that investigation piece of doing our dig through,” Lara said, “looking at burn patterns and evaluate how this fire was started.”
Lara says it could take anywhere from two weeks to two years to determine the cause of the fire. It all depends on the extent of the damage.
She said they are taking every safety precaution they can to make sure things are done right.
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