Crestline fire suspect appears in court

May 22--A 17-year-old boy accused of setting a fire that destroyed Vancouver'sCrestline Elementary School 14 months ago made his first appearance today in Clark County Juvenile Court.

Dylan Mork has been charged with second-degree arson and is scheduled to be arraigned June 26 on the charge.

Neatly dressed in a dark suit, Mork appeared today with his parents and his attorney, Jack Green, in front of Superior Court Commissioner Dayann Liebman.

Deputy Prosecutor Dan Gasperino told the court today that Mork has been cooperating with prosecutors and police since the beginning of the investigation into the fire on Feb. 3, 2013. However, investigators didn't announce that the fire was human-caused, or that they had a suspect, until last month.

"Mr. Mork's attorney has been in constant contact with us and police," Gasperino said. "As such, we don't have any release concerns."

Mork was summoned to the court, rather than arrested and booked into the Juvenile Detention Center. Liebman said she would allow him to continue living with his parents while the case is prosecuted.

The overall cost of the fire is projected to spiral to $22 million by September when a replacement school opens, according to officials with Evergreen Public Schools.

The three-alarm early morning fire destroyed the school, at 13003 S.E. Seventh St., and displaced 500 students and 50 staff for the rest of last school year and all of this year.

An official with Canfield, the third-party administrator for the schools insurance association, has said that the association may sue Mork's parents for damages. Phil Riche, Canfield's vice president, said the association's attorneys likely would wait to take any civil action until the criminal case has been resolved.

Mork is a junior at Mountain View High School and a first-year student in the restaurant management program at the Clark County Skills Center. He never attended Crestline Elementary.

After the fire, students and staff were divided by grade level and sent to five elementary schools for the remaining four months of last school year. This school year, students and staff are housed at temporary quarters on the former Hewlett-Packard campus on Southeast 34th Street that is now owned by SEH America.

The new Crestline school is set to be completed Aug. 1 to give teachers time to move in and set up their classrooms. The school will have upgraded technology, security and notably, fire-suppression systems. Those weren't required at the time the original Crestline was constructed in the early 1970s. The new school is being built to follow an updated plan that resembles Endeavour Elementary.

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