By Pepper Fisher

PORT ANGELES – The final report on the investigation into the origin and cause of the fire that destroyed the Hurricane Ridge Day Lodge on May 7 last year is in, and the bottom line is this: Investigators say they don’t know what caused the fire.

The report says they were able to determine that the fire appears to have started in the northeast portion of the building, which was undergoing a full interior renovation at the time. However, they say several potential ignition sources were identified but the specific source could not be determined.

Those possible sources include electrical panels on the walls in the area, the lithium-ion battery packs on several cordless power tools that were lying around, and the report says that at the time of the fire, a few radiant heaters were observed being utilized in bathrooms within the structure.

The problem, they say, is that the long burn time destroyed evidence of fire patterns, triggered additional potential ignition sources, and compromised the investigators’ ability to analyze electrical components within the fire’s suspected area of origin.

These things combined led investigators to conclude that a specific cause of the fire could not be determined on a “more probable than not” basis.

(NPS photo)