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Woman arrested for setting fires near University of Portland, officials say

The suspect, 38-year-old Adrienne Clark, faces four counts of reckless burning, according to Portland Fire & Rescue.

PORTLAND, Ore. — A woman was arrested for allegedly setting a series of fires along a bluff trail near the University of Portland on Wednesday morning.

The suspect, 38-year-old Adrienne Clark, faces four counts of reckless burning, according to Portland Fire & Rescue.

On Wednesday morning, fire officials received reports that a woman was setting fires along the Waud Bluff Trail near North Willamette Boulevard and North Harvard Street.

Credit: Multnomah County Sheriff's Office
Adrienne Clark

Crews responded at 11:00 a.m. after multiple 911 calls. They put out five fires, ranging in size from 100 square feet to 20,000 square feet.

“That fire got really close to the university,” said Lt. Rich Chatman of Portland Fire & Rescue.

Witnesses reported seeing a woman setting the fires with a butane lighter.

“One of those witnesses actually followed her and led authorities to her when they arrived,” said Chatman.

One of the biggest wildland fires on record in Portland burned on the same North Portland bluff in August 2001. What started as a small brush fire quickly grew to a five-alarm inferno. Every available firefighter in Portland responded that day, and airplanes dropped water from above. More than 100 homes were threatened as high winds spread the flames.

“You could just see the flames licking up the top of the bluff and people in their backyards with hoses, trying to hose down their houses,” Chatman said, referring to the 2001 fire. “Anything in the category of wildfire on that bluff certainly brings a chill down a few of our spines.”

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