The Olympian

A fire that damaged the historic brick brewhouse on the Deschutes River below Tumwater Falls Saturday night appears to have been intentionally set, a city official said Sunday.

There’s no power to the building, spokeswoman Ann Cook said, which rules out an electrical fire.

Investigators are looking into the cause and origins of the fire, searching for chemicals used to accelerate the fire and burn patterns.

The first fire crews on the scene Saturday night reported the “strong smell of spray paint,” she said.

About 9:30 p.m. Saturday, Tumwater fire was dispatched to the old brewhouse after reports of smoke emanating from the tower.

Fire crews found two small fires on two separate floors inside the tower, and a fire in an adjacent building. Using water from the Deschutes River, the fire was extinguished about 12:45 a.m. Sunday.

Firefighters from Olympia, Lacey Fire District 3 and McLane/Black Lake fire departments responded to the fire. No injuries were reported.

A $2 million project to replace bricks, restore masonry, and construct permanent roofs on the historical structure was recently completed, and structural reinforcement work was under way, Cook said.

“We are moving aggressively to preserve the old brewhouse tower and complete the rehabilitation,” Mayor Pete Kmet said in a statement late Sunday. “Any setback is frustrating, but this is also an opportunity to harness the strong sentiment in the community and bring this building back to its grandeur.”

Former property owner George Heidgerken donated the brick brewhouse to the city in 2016 to preserve and protect the property, Cook said. The building dates to 1906, according to city information, and beer was brewed there until 1916.

The entire former brewery, including the more modern buildings on Custer Way, has been plagued by fire and vandalism in recent years.