http://seattlep-i.nwsource.com/local/24095_fire22.shtml [maps/pics/links] Blaze damages horticulture center; eco-terrorists suspected Tuesday, May 22, 2001 By CANDACE HECKMAN SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER A three-alarm fire that charred academic offices and laboratories at the University of Washington yesterday may have been set by domestic terrorists targeting biogenetic tree research, authorities close to the investigation said. The blaze began in the office of an associate professor at the Center for Urban Horticulture. His research was previously targeted by unidentified vandals who chopped down his genetically modified poplars during the World Trade Organization meeting in 1999. The fire is being investigated as "suspicious," although the cause has not been determined, investigators said. Professor H.D. "Toby" Bradshaw said yesterday he found it peculiar that two plastic reptile boxes from his office, where he usually keeps a pair of corn snakes for use in biology lectures, were set under a serviceberry tree, far away from the blaze. That indicated the blaze may have been deliberately set by someone who broke into his office, he said. The fire, which took firefighters about four hours to contain early yesterday morning, destroyed years of irreplaceable laboratory samples and research specimens and displaced 28 staff members and students from the center's Merrill Hall. The UW fire hit at nearly the same time yesterday that a poplar nursery near Clatskanie, Ore., was firebombed. The FBI is investigating whether a radical environmental group called the Earth Liberation Front ignited the fire at Jefferson Poplar Farms that destroyed two buildings and several vehicles. The letters "ELF" were written on the side of a building, as was the phrase "You cannot control what is wild," said FBI spokeswoman Beth Anne Steele. No one was hurt in either fire, authorities said. Special agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and the FBI in Seattle tried to search gutted botany labs at the UW for arson evidence and indications that would be typical calling cards of radical environmental groups. The hallmark of so-called "direct action" by the radical groups Earth Liberation Front and Animal Liberation Front is graffiti scrawled on outside walls or interior hallways; and no such graffiti had been discovered at the UW fire scene last night, two sources said. Nevertheless, investigators think it likely that the fire could be an incident of domestic terrorism. Genetic manipulation of plants and animals is a hot button for both groups. Barring a disgruntled student, "who else is going to burn a facility like this? There is no profit involved," said one federal source familiar with the organizations. Another source also pointed out that removing the boxes believed to have contained living snakes from a building about to be set ablaze is an act consonant with the philosophy of both groups, which revere animal life. ELF has not officially claimed responsibility for either fire. But Craig Rosebraugh, Portland-based spokesman for the ELF Press Office, said that he would not be surprised if he received an anonymous communication from someone at ELF in the near future. Although there have been several acts of domestic terrorism committed by ALF in the state, ELF has been quiescent here. ELF's activities have been focused so far in Oregon. But one source said that there is little distinction between ELF and ALF. "Many of the people in the groups are the same people," said the criminal justice source. "To a great extent, these groups don't exist. Someone who protests for animal rights during the day puts on a black mask at night, does an illegal act and is ALF for the night." Some botany students and spectators at the Center for Urban Horticulture yesterday afternoon said that they were perplexed why groups that claim to support the environment would target a researcher who grows trees. "Rational people do not do this," Bradshaw said. "If it was a personal scientific dispute, we'd be debating this in a public forum." Several professors said they were heartbroken about the loss of research they had collected during decades of horticultural study. "It's looks bad, that's all I can say," said Tom Hinckley, director of the Center for Urban Horticulture, who lost files, documents and class materials in the fire. Hinckley said that neither he nor any of the staff know whether data can be retrieved from computers that were either burned, soaked or both. He had back-up disks in his desk drawer, as did many professors. Horticulture supporters also feared for the center's special library, which houses thousands of rare titles, including unique manuscripts dating as far back as the 1500s. Because firefighters entering the building covered the bookshelves before turning on the hoses, most books were spared. Especially rare horticultural journals were kept in a temperature- and humidity-controlled room that was built with fireproof walls. The blaze, however, traveled from Bradshaw's office and lab on the first floor of the building to the ceiling and through the attic. � 1998-2001 Seattle Post-Intelligencer
