15 Oregon police cars burned overnight at training facility

An arsonist group occurrence to astatine slightest 15 constabulary cars astatine a training installation successful northeastern Portland, Oregon, early Thursday morning, authorities said. No 1 was injured.

Photographs taken astatine nan segment showed immense blazes engulfing nan vehicles and a heavy wide of grey fume billowing up from nan flames. 

Photos show nan training cars connected occurrence successful a fenced-in batch successful Portland, Oregon. Portland Police Bureau

More images taken aft nan fires were extinguished showed aggregate cruisers severely burned, pinch a sizable spread melted done nan hood of 1 that besides had a collapsed beforehand light. The soul framework could beryllium seen connected different car that was partially eviscerated. A ample propane vessel is pictured beside 2 burning cars successful 1 of nan pictures. 

Burnt-out cars are seen aft constabulary said 15 were lit connected occurrence successful a training area. Portland Police Bureau

Each torched conveyance was either damaged aliases destroyed successful nan incident, nan Portland Police Bureau said successful a news release. Officers responded to nan blazes alongside Portland occurrence officials astatine 1:55 a.m. section clip connected Thursday, according to nan bureau. They recovered a group of parked vehicles burning successful a fenced-in area astatine nan Portland Police Training Division, a ample analyzable adjacent Portland International Airport, which is astir 10 miles from nan city's downtown. The building itself was not damaged.

A occurrence investigations portion has opened a probe into what happened, and nan constabulary bureau said it is being looked astatine arsenic a suspected arson case, meaning they judge nan vehicles were deliberately burned. The occurrence investigations portion includes investigators from Portland Fire and Rescue and a detective from nan Portland Police Bureau. 

Authorities person not identified immoderate fishy perchance connected to nan fires. They are asking anyone pinch accusation astir nan incident to interaction nan constabulary bureau aliases nan occurrence investigations unit's extremity line.

Fires that collapsed retired overnight astatine nan training installation were not nan first suspected arson incidents connected authorities spot successful Portland this year. In January, constabulary announced that an arson investigation was underway aft a bid of blazes burned instrumentality owned by nan city, including a forklift, an excavator and a bulldozer. They said astatine nan clip that grounds gathered astatine nan segment "suggested nan fires that damaged nan instrumentality were intentionally set."

The area wherever those January fires happened is astir 20 minutes from nan constabulary training installation by car. It is unclear whether anyone has been implicated successful nan instrumentality fires, and location is nary known relationship betwixt that incident and nan 1 astatine nan training facility. CBS News contacted nan Portland Police Bureau for remark but did not person an contiguous reply.

In:
• Arson
• Oregon
• Fire
• Portland