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Serving Orcas, Lopez and San Juan County
WEDNESDAY, July 24, 2013 VOL. 46, NO. 30 75¢
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‘Suspicious’ fires
The Orcas Artworks and a residence in Olga catch on fire the same night by COLLEEN SMITH ARMSTRONG Editor/Publisher
Two fires in Olga last week have been labeled “suspicious in nature.” Orcas Island Fire and Rescue was dispatched to the Orcas Artworks and a residential structure that were both ablaze in the early morning hours of July 19. “The investigation team is doing all we can to get to the bottom of these fires and prevent anything like this from happening again,” said Orcas Fire Chief Kevin O’Brien. The incidents are under investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Sheriff ’s Office, the San Juan County Fire Marshal’s Office and all three island fire departments. A house fire with explosions in Olga’s Willis Lane neighborhood in June has been classified as arson, but O’Brien says he can’t say if the three fires are related. That incident was called in at 3:15 a.m. on June 7. Anyone who has information about the fires is asked to call Fire Marshal Paul Turner at 376-2331. There is a reward of up to $10,000. If community members see any suspicious behavior in regards to
arson in the coming weeks, they are asked to call 911.
The Olga fires
The first call came in at 3:01 a.m. on July 19 as a smoke investigation, and crews found the Orcas Artworks on fire and called in a full response. The fire was mainly on the east side of the building with the majority of damage to the exterior and ceiling as well as smoke damage in the interior. It is estimated that 30 percent of the building was involved. It took crews 30 minutes to extinguish the main body of the fire. At 3:29 a.m. the second structure fire was called in at Willis Lane, which is less than three miles from the Artworks. Available crews responded to the fire and extinguished the two-story residential structure, which was 50 percent involved in flames. San Juan Island’s fire boat Confidence transported additional firefighters from San Juan and Lopez to help with the clean up and property salvage efforts. Firefighters worked on extinguishing difficult hot spots in the roof structure of the Artworks building throughout Friday and Saturday. There were no injuries to civilians or firefighters.
Bob Shipstad/Contributed photos
Above: Auxiliary volunteer Velma Doty (left) and Cafe Olga owners Bobby Olmsted and Bev Simko (middle and right) watch as Orcas Fire and Rescue crew members work on the Orcas Artworks building on July 19. Left: Firefighter Ben Luna carries artwork from the building after the blaze.
O’Brien thanked the volunteer firefighters, OIFR Auxiliary and community members who assisted with the clean-up effort and provided support to the emergency crews. A treasured Orcas Island destination, the Artworks offers art and crafts from more than 40 local artisans. It was established in 1981
and is owned and operated by the artists. The co-op shares its historic building, a renovated strawberry packing plant, with the Cafe Olga, owned by Bobby Olmsted and Bev Simko. It is expected that the building will take months to repair. “The Artworks is a community of artists, not a building,” said artist James Hardman, who has a gallery of his work in the Artworks loft. “We have 32 years of experience in collaboration and cooperation. We have learned how to be there
County disperses tourism grants by STEVE WEHRLY Journal reporter
The San Juan County Council approved funding recommendations for tourism facilities grants totaling $411,000 for the coming year – a 12 percent increase over the amount allocated a year ago. Perhaps the biggest surprise in the list of recommendations offered up by the Lodging Tax Advisory Committee is a $25,000 grant to purchase equipment for a drive-in movie venue at the San Juan County fairgrounds main field carnival site. The fair expects to offer movies on 23 nights between April and November with room for about 100 cars and 50 spectators at each afterdusk movie. The drive-in, including expected concession stand sales, is projected to generate about $24,000 in annual revenue. It will not operate during the county fair. The grants approved July 16 by the council
are consistent with amounts recommended by the county LTAC, a volunteer panel tasked with evaluating requests for funding from the county lodging tax facilities fund. The amount allocated for local tourism-related facilities and events totaled $366,700 for 2013. The LTAC facilities grants are about half of the lodging tax funds available for distribution by the county. The other half of the money is used for direct tourism promotion; 85 percent for the San Juan Island Visitors Bureau and five percent for the Orcas, Lopez and San Juan chambers of commerce. As in past years, slightly less than half of the money, $190,000, was awarded to San Juan County parks and fairground operations and just over 20 percent, or about $85,000, will be divided among performing arts centers on San Juan, Lopez and Orcas. Dona Wuthnow, director of the county parks and fair department, said the lodging tax
funds represent about 15 percent of the parks and fairgrounds operating budget. As in past years, the fairgrounds will receive a little less than one-third of the total; the money for the drive-in movie equipment is a separate capital expenditure. The allocations to the three performing arts centers represent about 17.5 percent of the Lopez Center yearly budget, 6.25 percent of the Orcas Center budget, and 5.6 percent of the San Juan Community Theatre budget. As in past years, grants were provided to historical museums on Orcas, Lopez and San Juan islands (each will received about $22,000) and to the San Juan Island Museum of Art ($5,210). Eight new projects competed for grants; five were approved for a total of $49,000 out of $124,000 in requests. The LTAC rejected funding requests by the Friday Harbor
SEE TOURISM, PAGE 6
for each other through good times and bad times. We are creative people, and in the long term we will create something even better. In the short term, though, we have many people whose immediate livelihood is severely threatened.” Tax deductible donations to help victims of the fire can be sent to the Olga Strawberry Council at P.O. Box 214, Olga, WA 98279. Note either: “Artists” or “Cafe.” For updates on this story, visit www.islandssounder.com.
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