Man arrested in arson fire that destroyed paper mill along iconic Oregon waterfall

Oregon City police arrested a local man Thursday on suspicion of intentionally

setting fire

to the

shuttered Blue Heron paper

mill

built on the roaring riverbanks just off Willamette Falls.

Christian G. Dukes, 21, was lodged in the Clackamas County Jail on suspicion of second-degree arson, according to booking records. He has not yet been arraigned or formally charged in court.

The former site of Blue Heron Paper Company has been

permanently closed

since 2011, when the mill went

bankrupt

. It has attracted squatters and graffiti since then, despite being

purchased by the Confederated Tribes

of the Grand Ronde for a

mixed-use redevelopment.

It was just after 3:45 a.m., Jan. 30, that smoke and flames were reported; the resulting inferno devoured a large section of the

steel-frame plant

.

Investigators previously said the fire was likely sparked by a “makeshift stove.”

Dukes was sentenced to seven days in the Clackamas County jail in September 2022 after pleading guilty to harassment of a domestic partner, court records show.

Probation reports filed while the case was pending portrayed Dukes as homeless and using methamphetamine.

In one report, Oregon City Police Officer Tanner Crivellone described recognizing Dukes from “previous contacts” and stated he was “acting very erratic.”

—Zane Sparling covers breaking news and courts for The Oregonian/OregonLive. Reach him at 503-319-7083,


zsparling@oregonian.com


or


@pdxzane


.

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