A transient woman suspected of setting grass fires Tuesday night along Highway 99 near Hazel Dell made a first appearance in Clark County Superior Court on Wednesday.
Lori A. Henderson, 45, appeared on suspicion of second-degree arson and first-degree criminal impersonation in connection with the incident.
According to a probable cause affidavit, Vancouver police were called shortly before 10 p.m. to the 5300 block of Highway 99 for an arson. A uniformed security officer, Travis Ellis, had been chasing the suspect on foot and captured her by the time police arrived, the affidavit says.
Ellis told police that he had been driving north on Highway 99 from the Interstate 5 exit ramp when he noticed someone, later identified as Henderson, kneeling next to a patch of grass. He said he saw Henderson throw some type of burning material into the dry grass on the east side of the highway next to a paved walking path. The grass ignited immediately, court records said.
Ellis said he turned his vehicle around to go stamp out the fire, but by the time he reached the blaze, it had grown to the size of his car and was spreading. He said he also noticed three other fire patches, progressing from north to south. He observed Henderson walking away southbound from the last of the fires. He then ran after and caught up to her, the affidavit said.
Henderson was the only person in the area, and Ellis identified her as the person who had started the first fire, according to court documents.
Henderson said she knew nothing about the fires and told police her name was Theresa M. Larson, according to the affidavit. She also denied having any lighters or matches, but police later recovered a lighter from Henderson’s property, court records said.
Police learned Henderson’s true name after finding a Clark County Jail bracelet in her backpack and comparing her to a booking photo, according to court documents. She apparently had a Superior Court warrant for her arrest, the affidavit says.
During Wednesday’s hearing, Judge Suzan Clark appointed attorney Megan Peyton to represent Henderson. She also set bail at $50,000.
Henderson is scheduled to be arraigned July 29.
