Suspect Arrested in Yakima Radio Station Arson

A 41-year-old man is in police custody after he allegedly tried to set fire to the outside of the Townsquare Media Radio Complex in Yakima.

While the fire was didn't cause serious damage, it produced enough smoke and fumes to warrant an evacuation of the building on Summitview Ave. Wednesday. It also clearly burned a noticeable area on the outside of the structure.

According to our sister station Newstalk 1280 KIT-AM,   employees saw flames, smelled the smoke and notified authorities.   Surveillance cameras from the bank across the street were able to catch footage of the suspect.  The man walked up to the outside of the building, took something from his mouth, lit it on fire, and shoved it under one of the shingles that cover the outside of the structure.   Police said the man did not give a reason why he tried to light the building on fire.

The fire was confined to a small area, but authorities say it did burn a number of tiles and the side of the building.   The identity of the man was not released.

The building houses a number of radio stations including 94.5 KATS-FM, a rock station,  92.9 The Bull-country, and Newstalk 870's sister station Newstalk 1280 KIT-AM as well as several other signals.