5/28/2009 - Redmond
by Matt McDonald
 
A suspicious fire completely burns a tire trailer at Les Schwab in Redmond overnight. Neighbors stood watching firefighters battle the flames.
 
"I just see these flames, you know, like this bright color you know. And I come out and all the sudden I just see that trailer on fire," said Jose Lopez, a nearby neighbor.
 
Left behind, tires twisted by the heat and black tar melted to the sidewalk. The roof of the trailer, gone in the effort to get the flames under control.
 
"When tires burn, they burn really hot and put off a lot of smoke. It takes a lot of water to put it out," said Clara Butler, Deputy Fire Marshall for the Redmond Fire Department.
 
"I could feel the heat from over here," said Wanda Jimenez. She lives across the street. Fearing for her house and the four kids inside, she called for help. But she saw more than just flames. Earlier, she saw two young men she describes as in their late teens or early twenties.
 
"They were lighting something, like a lighter or something, you could see the light from what they were doing but that didn't work and they ran off, they were laughing the first time they ran off into the street," said Jimenez.
 
Jimenez said the pair came back. Minutes later...
 
"Like a boom," said Jimenez.
 
She felt what seemed like an explosion and the fire had started. Redmond Fire and Rescue arrived in minutes, but already the trailer was fully engulfed.
 
On Thursday morning, they returned, washing away the soot to look for clues.
 
"We have a team that involves Redmond Police Department, Oregon State Police, the Office of the State Fire Marshall," said Butler.
 
If you have any information that can help police in making an arrest, you could earn a reward by calling Crimestoppers at 1-800-3-DETECT. Caller's can remain anonymous.