Oregon fire claims lives of four kids, injures 3 others

A raging fire which engulfed an Oregon timber town claimed the lives of four kids and critically injured their mother, her husband and another siblings who are all said to be in hospital receiving treatment.

The fire which claimed the lives of the children aged between 4, 7, 10 and 13 and included a foster child, 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.

Identifying the victims authorities said among the dead were 4-year-old Gwendolyn Howell, 7-year-old Haley Maher, 10-year-old Isaiah Young and 13-year-old Nicholas Lowe.

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

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