Fire destroys vacant Prineville mobile home; man held on reckless burning charge

PRINEVILLE, Ore. (KTVZ) – A man was arrested Saturday evening on reckless burning and other charges after a fire destroyed a vacant mobile home in Prineville, also damaging several trees and closing U.S. Highway 26 for a time due to flames and smoke, authorities said.

Crook County Fire & Rescue crews were called just before 6:30 p.m. to the 2000 block of Northeast Third Street (Highway 26) and arrived to find the unoccupied mobile home fully involved, Division Chief Russ Deboodt said.

Firefighters put out the blaze and were able to contain it largely to the mobile home, Deboodt said. There were no injuries.

The fire was “most likely human-caused,” the fire official said.

Prineville police, the Crook County Sheriff’s Office and ODOT provided assistance at the scene.

Prineville police Sgt. Jimmy O’Daniel said Patrick Thomas Kerrigan, 29, was arrested on a reckless burning charge. He said no one was living in the abandoned trailer.

Kerrigan remained held Sunday at the Crook County Jail on $22,500 bail, facing charges of reckless burning, unlawful entry into a motor vehicle and second-degree criminal trespass by a guest.

Court records show Kerrigan also was arrested last Tuesday on charges of second-degree disorderly conduct and unlawful use of a weapon (a knife), but a prosecutor moved to dismiss the charges two days later, citing insufficient evidence.

On May 22, records show, Kerrigan was arrested on a charge of second-degree disorderly conduct for obstructing a road. He later pleaded no contest and was sentenced to a week in jail, with credit for time served.

In both Crook County cases, his address was listed in court files as the Portland Rescue Mission on West Burnside Avenue.

Last year, in Deschutes County, Kerrigan pleaded no contest to aggravated harassment and giving false information to a police officer. A second-degree disorderly conduct charge was dismissed, and he was sentenced to a 20-day jail term.