Nine days after a fire damaged an East Portland house belonging to City Councilor Candace Avalos, police arrested 51-year-old Vashon Locust on suspicion of starting the blaze—but not before the blaze ignited a firestorm at City Hall last week.

Locust had been trying to stay warm. Police said he had entered a nearby shed to plug in a portable heater to an outlet, but when that didn’t work, he lit a small fire. That fire would grow to consume a carport, Avalos’ car, and the side of her home before firefighters quelled the blaze. Avalos escaped unhurt with her cat, Valentino.

Police Chief Bob Day and Fire Chief Lauren Johnson said in a joint statement that investigators’ “thorough, methodical investigation ultimately determined that this was not a targeted act of violence.” The arrest likel

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