Court documents provide additional detail about the actions of suspected Friday Harbor arsonist

The April 7 fire that destroyed four Friday Harbor buildings and caused upwards of $10 million in damage was started more than five hours before it was reported to San Juan County Sheriff’s dispatchers, according to a statement presented in San Juan County Superior Court yesterday.

A probable cause statement prepared by Lukas Peter, San Juan County Sheriff detective, notes that a security camera attached to the Windermere Real Estate building captured a bright flash of light lasting for roughly thirty seconds at 10:04 p.m. on the night of April 6. Investigators from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives have concluded that the content of the video is consistent with the ignition of an ignitable liquid.

“As the ignitable liquid is consumed, the light produced by the fire diminishes,” according to the statement. “ATF experts assert it is not unusual for a fire caused by ignitable liquids to smolder for hours before flaring up once combustible materials dry out sufficiently.”

Dwight Henline, who is suspected of starting the fire, was captured by security cameras purchasing an eight-ounce bottle of lighter fluid from an unnamed local business nine minutes before the fire started. Security footage also shows Henline leaving the scene of the fire one minutes after its ignition, then going to retrieve a suitcase that had previously been stashed at the bottom of the steps near the Cheesecake Cafe. Eight minutes later he is shown boarding a ferry to Anacortes, carrying a backpack and pulling a suitcase. Cameras in Anacortes recorded Henline getting into a waiting sedan upon his arrival.

The probable cause statement also notes that at around 7:15 p.m. on April 6, roughly three hours before the fire started, a Sheriff’s deputy served Henline with a trespass warning letter for a local church property while Henline was in his vehicle in the Washington State Ferries’ C parking lot. Henline later called his mother in Oak Harbor, telling her that he was “done with Friday Harbor” and asking to be picked up from the ferry that night.

On April 15, investigators served a search warrant on a residence located in Langley, on Whidbey Island, where Henline had been staying with another family member, after being transported there by his mother. They recovered a mostly empty bottle of lighter fluid consistent with what security footage shows him purchasing in Friday Harbor on the night of April 6. They also found several lighters, along with clothing that matches what Henline was shown wearing on the night of the fire. Henline reportedly left the residence 30 minutes prior to investigators’ arrival.

A Langley police officer returned to the residence the following afternoon, arresting Henline and transporting him to the Island County Jail. He later refused to speak with investigators from the ATF and San Juan County.

Henline appeared in court yesterday for a review hearing, where his bail was set at $500,000. He will be arraigned on Monday, May 2. At that time the County will formally state the charges against Henline, and he will enter a plea of guilty or not guilty.

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