Deputy: 4 children dead, 3 people injured in Oregon fire


6 photos
Save Story
Leer en español

Estimated read time: 1-2 minutes

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Four children died in a house fire Wednesday in an Oregon timber town and their mother, her husband and a 13-year-old sibling were critically injured, a sheriff's official said.

The fire broke out around 2 a.m. in Riddle, a small town about 200 miles south of Portland that has been hit hard by the decline of the timber industry.

The dead children were ages 4, 7, 10 and 13 and included a foster child, authorities said.

The cause of the blaze did not appear suspicious, but an investigation was continuing, authorities said.

"It's awful, it's devastating," Douglas County sheriff's Deputy Dwes Hutson said. "It's a small town. There are less than 1,000 people in Riddle."

Grief counselors were on hand at schools in the South Umpqua School District, where some of the children attended class, said Superintendent Tim Porter.

The district has 1,450 students in all grades and the news shook up the community where people know each other.

James Keith Howell, 39, Tabitha Annette Howell, 38, and Andrew Hall-Young, 13, were transported to Legacy Emmanuel Medical Center in Portland, Hutson said.

Killed were 4-year-old Gwendolyn Howell, 7-year-old Haley Maher, 10-year-old Isaiah Young and 13-year-old Nicholas Lowe.

Nicholas Lowe was a foster child, Hutson said. Tabitha Howell is the mother of all the other children and is married to James Howell.

____

Follow Gillian Flaccus on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/gflaccus

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Photos

Most recent U.S. stories

Related topics

U.S.
GILLIAN FLACCUS

    STAY IN THE KNOW

    Get informative articles and interesting stories delivered to your inbox weekly. Subscribe to the KSL.com Trending 5.
    By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

    KSL Weather Forecast