PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – The suspect arrested in connection to the Blue Heron Paper Mill fire in December 2020 was found guilty of several charges Friday in Clackamas County Circuit Court.
Enrique Mejia, 30, was convicted of first-degree arson, second-degree arson, second-degree burglary, second-degree criminal trespassing, and second-degree disorderly conduct.
The fire at the site of the former Blue Heron Paper Mill occurred on Dec. 5, 2020. Police were first alerted after a passerby at a nearby lookout noticed suspicious activity at the site.
When Oregon City Police Department officers arrived at the site, they found and arrested Mejia and saw smoke coming from one of the buildings.
According to Clackamas Fire District #1, firefighters responded and the situation quickly grew to a three-alarm fire. Neighboring agencies were called in to help with the dangerous call. The fire caused the southeast corner of the fourth floor of a building to collapse, and caused the structure to become unstable.
“We came dangerously close to losing multiple firefighters that day,” said Battalion Chief Jonathan Schierman.
A Clackamas Fire District investigator determined the fire was caused by “some type of human intervention.”
Fire officials said it was thanks to the hard work of the investigation team that helped bring the case to a close.