Person Of Interest Questioned And Released In Huge Wagoner Fire

A person of interest in the Wagoner fire was questioned and released as investigators try to determine what happened.

Federal agents with the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms said they interviewed Roy Weeden Monday, July 31, 2017.

Wagoner Police Chief Bob Haley said several witnesses said they say Weeden in the area but said there was no evidence to link him to the fire.

7/31/2017 Related Story: Firefighters Put Out Hot Spots After Downtown Wagoner Fire

At a news conference Monday, Haley, Fire Chief Kelly Grooms and Wagoner Mayor Albert Jones gave an update on the situation.

Grooms said firefighters are still working to actively cool down the area so investigators can collect more evidence. He said that could take up to three to four days to fully cool it down.

Haley said they don’t have any evidence to connect the fire to arson, but said it can’t be ruled out either.

Jones said structural engineers are going to be in town Tuesday to assess the buildings. The mayor said they hope to save the facades of the historic buildings if possible.

7/30/2017 Related Story: Wagoner Firefighters Battle Fires In Historic Downtown Buildings

Jones said Wagoner was the first city established in Oklahoma and said the buildings that were lost were more than just buildings to locals.

He’s encouraging the business owners to rebuild but said they won’t know the next step to take until the structural engineers look at the scene.

Jones also wanted to thank everyone that helped during the fire – he thanked the 100-plus firefighters, area law enforcement and local emergency responders.

He also said despite dumping 650,000 gallons on the fire in just five hours, they never ran out of water.

The fire started the afternoon of Sunday, July 30, 2017 and destroyed several historic buildings.