Manager of Camas Hotel arrested for alleged arson

Camas Police determined that the manager of the hotel set the fire in an attempt of financial gain, attempted insurance fraud

Courtesy of Camas Hotel

On June 17, Camas Police Detectives arrested the manager of the family owned Camas Hotel, 30-year-old Won Dong A. Lee Kim, for arson after they determined he set a fire inside the hotel in an attempt of financial gain and attempted insurance fraud, according to a news release from the Camas Police Department.

According to the news release, the Camas-Washougal Fire Department was dispatched to a possible fire at the Camas Hotel, located at 405 NE 4th Ave. Fire Department officials reported evidence of the fire being intentionally set and turned the case over to the police for investigation.

A hotel guest originally reported to 911 that a smoke alarm was sounding in a guest room on the third floor of the hotel and there was an odor of smoke. The guest ultimately extinguished the small fire with a fire extinguisher. The damage was minimal and contained to that one unoccupied room.

There were 15 guests and one employee in the hotel during that time.

Lee Kim was booked at Clark County Jail for arson in the first degree.

Camas Hotel is a historic building in downtown Camas and has been in operation since 1911.

Joanna Yorke-Payne
Joanna Yorke is the managing editor of the Vancouver Business Journal. She has worked in the journalism field since 2010 after graduating from the Edward R. Murrow College of Communication at Washington State University in Pullman. Yorke worked at The Reflector Newspaper in Battle Ground for six years and then worked at and helped start ClarkCountyToday.com.

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