Suspicious fire guts Cave Junction post office

Oregon State Police and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service are jointly investigating what caused a suspicious fire early Thursday morning that gutted the U.S. Post Office in the southern Oregon town of Cave Junction.

Around 1:30 a.m., a report was received of a fire at the post office building located in the 100 block of S. Hussey Avenue, troopers said.

Firefighters from the Illinois Valley Fire District and Rural/Metro Fire Department responded to the fire, which caused extensive damage to the one-story building. A passenger vehicle parked near the building was also damaged.

An OSP detective from the Arson Unit and an inspector from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service responded to the scene to investigate the cause of the fire. That investigation is ongoing, officials said.

Mayor Carl Jacobson says it is a catastrophe for the town of 1,900 people.

Battalion Chief Kamron Ismaili says there was no immediate indication of how it started. It was not known how much mail was lost, but Ismaili says the contents are likely a total loss.

Jacobson says they are looking for a building to use as a temporary post office.

Anyone with information regarding the fire investigation was asked to call OSP Detective Galen Couch at (541) 618-7996.