by Sequim Gazette Staff

Two Sequim boys are suspected of starting a fire on Monday, Jan. 17, that burned down an abandoned farmhouse.

Witnesses reported seeing two boys near the house before the fire and investigators believed it was intentionally set, Sequim Police Officer Maris Turner said.

Turner said a mother turned in her 11-year-old son early Tuesday Jan. 18, in connection with the fire.

Police later identified a second suspect, who is 12 years old. The boys were interviewed and released to their parents, and the case was sent to the Clallam County Prosecutor’s Office for review and consideration of charges, she said.

The two-story farmhouse, which hadn’t been occupied in more than 10 years, was a total loss after the fire consumed it in minutes.

Fire crews from Clallam County Fire District 3 were called to the house in the 400 block of Ninth Avenue across from Costco about 4:45 p.m.

By the time they arrived, the house was fully engulfed in flames, Sequim Police Sgt. Sean Madison said.

Police were questioning people on-site while fire crews battled the blaze. Many people stood in the Costco parking lot and a nearby field watching the fire. Police vehicles and fire trucks lined Ninth Avenue for close to two hours.

“This isn’t something that happens every day,” Madison said.