A Vancouver man accused of setting his former neighbor’s house on fire in west Hazel Dell appeared Thursday in Clark County Superior Court.
Ross Anthony Burke, 35, appeared on suspicion of first-degree arson. Judge Gregory Gonzales set his bail at $250,000. He is scheduled to be arraigned Nov. 18.
The Clark County Fire Marshal’s Office and Clark County Fire District 6 responded shortly before 10:30 p.m. Oct. 26 to the 1700 block of Northwest 104th Street.
A woman, her husband and three children were inside their house when the woman looked out the window and saw a masked man pouring gasoline on their porch, according to court records.
Deputy Fire Marshal Jason Knoble wrote in a probable cause affidavit that the man, later identified as Burke, can be seen on footage from a Ring doorbell pouring gasoline on the porch before getting back into his pickup and driving off. Burke was also seen on footage at an Arco gas station filling up the gas can before driving off in the direction of the house.
A neighbor identified the suspect as Burke and told investigators Burke used to live next door to the house he set on fire, the affidavit states.
The neighbor and the woman recognized the truck seen in surveillance video as belonging to Burke. Investigators also found photos of the truck on Burke’s Facebook page, according to court records.
Knoble wrote, “Currently there is no known motive.”
No one was injured in the fire, and any flames were extinguished before fire crews arrived, Fire District 6 stated in a news release.
