Man sentenced for tumwata village fire

OREGON CITY -- A Clackamas County judge has sentenced 22-year-old Christian Gannon Dukes to five years in prison for setting a fire in late January at the former Blue Heron Paper Mill, the Tribe’s 23-acre tumwata village property, in Oregon City.

Dukes pled guilty Thursday, Dec. 4, to first-degree arson in exchange for having additional charges dropped. He admitted to having set the fire intentionally, using paper he had stacked up on the floor, because he believed transients camping on the property had stolen some of his belongings.

During its investigation of what ignited the blaze, Clackamas Fire District fire investigators were able to determine the location where the fire was started and turned over the criminal investigation to OCPD detectives. Police detectives were able to identify several people who were living at the site and located them for interviews, that ultimately led them to Dukes, who was arrested last June.

 The 3-alarm fire started in the early morning hours of Thursday, Jan. 30, and closed the highway in both directions from Tumwater Drive to South End Road. All train service was paused as well. It was declared contained later that morning but smoldered for days.

The fire caused more than $50,000 in damage, according to court records.

The Grand Ronde Tribe purchased the property in 2019 and has been involved in extensive demolition and environmental remediation efforts since that time.

When construction is complete, the property will include a mix of open space, retail, shopping, residential, office, restaurants, and a hotel and event space, as well as access to the river’s edge, views of the restored native basalt riverbank and space for public and Tribal gatherings.  

Contains information from The Oregonian