Arson suspected at former home of Whatcom Humane Society Wildlife Rehabilitation Center
Whatcom County fire investigators believe a fire at the former home of the Whatcom County Human Society Wildlife Rehabilitation Center early Friday may have been purposely set.
Fortunately, the center, which was previously located along Mount Baker Highway near Nugents Corner, recently relocated to its new, larger location at 5602 Mission Road, according to a Facebook post by the Whatcom Humane Society.
“It was an incendiary fire, so human-caused,” Whatcom County fire investigator Will Anderson told The Herald. “We believe it was arson, so we’re asking anybody who saw anything or anybody in that area at that time to please call the sheriff’s office.”
Firefighters were called to the 3600 block of the Mount Baker Highway at 3:06 a.m. July 23 for the report of a residential fire, according to the PulsePoint app.
“When crews got there, they found fire in the front of the building and on the porch,” Whatcom County Fire District 1 Chief Mel Blankers said. “They did a good job of knocking it down quickly.”
A basement in the facility created a few challenges for firefighters, as it created the hazard of confined spaces.
“Once we got the fire knocked down and we got a crew in the basement to check for extension there, we found some of the floor joints had burned through, so that was a bit of a challenge for us,” Blankers said.
Blankers estimated the total damage to the building, which is owned by the county, at $20,000.
The facility had previously been used to rehabilitate wild animals, including deer, bald eagles, swans, owls, hawks, opossums, raccoons, skunks, robins, crows, ducks squirrels, beavers, marine mammals, seagulls and rabbits, according to the Humane Society’s webpage. Last year, the center provided medical treatment, care, comfort and services to more than 2,100 animals and was funded by private donations.
“Whatcom Humane Society must move into a new wildlife rehabilitation center in order to continue to efficiently operate and provide care and core services to injured, abandoned and abused native wildlife in our community,” the Human Society said about the move. “There simply is no other option.”
It is now located closer to the Division Street animal shelter located in a larger facility on 40 acres of land.
If you have any information about Friday’s fire, please contact the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office’s tip line at 360-778-6663.
This story was originally published July 23, 2021 at 1:27 PM.
