SATINDER PAL SINGH Image provided
The owners of Creswell Super 8 Motel were arrested and charged with first-degree arson this week, after their motel caught fire twice in three days back in November.
Inder Pal Singh, 29, and Satinder Pal Singh, 50, were arraigned on Monday and are currently being lodged at Lane County Jail.
The motel at 345 E. Oregon Ave. caught fire on Thanksgiving evening, Nov. 22, and once more on Saturday, Nov. 24.
The first fire broke out around 9 p.m. on the second floor of the motel, located on the south end of the building, South Lane County Fire & Rescue (SLCF&R) Fire Chief John Wooten said in a previous Chronicle interview. There were six rooms rented and a minimum of seven people in the motel at the time of the fire, Oregon State Police (OSP) said. The cause was initially thought to be electrical.
But that investigation was reopened after the second fire broke out in the same part of the building at 1:45 a.m. that following Saturday, Wooten said in a previous Chronicle interview.
Due to the suspicious nature of the fires, the Oregon State Police Arson Unit was requested to assist in the investigation, OSP said, and led a joint origin and cause Investigation with the SLCF&R and Lane County Sheriff’s Office.
Upon investigation, the fire was determined to be incendiary and intentional, according OSP, but could not spare additional details.
There were no injuries reported in either fires.
Wooten said in a previous interview that the damage estimates are between $150,000 and $200,000. The Chronicle contacted the Super 8 Motel media relations for commentary, but no calls or comments were returned by press time.
City Manager Michelle Amberg said she is unsure what this means for the property in the future now that the fires were deemed arson, and is currently looking into the issue. Manager Amberg said however, that if the property would go up for sale, the City of Creswell would be very interested in the property, as it currently blocks access to the industrial Bald Knob property behind the motel.
First-degree arson is a Measure 11 offense that carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 7 ½ years.
The hotel remains closed until further notice.
More information will be released as it becomes available.
