Washington State Patrol Communications Tower Set Afire

VANCOUVER, Wash. (AP) -- Someone set fire to a 200-foot radio tower used by the State Patrol and state Transportation Department, forcing the agencies to alter their communications systems in Clark County.

The fire was set at 11:50 p.m. Thursday in cables near the base of the tower. The flames climbed up the wires and conduits toward the top, destroying the rubber coating on the cables and damaging some fiberoptics, but there was no structural damage, said State Patrol Trooper Garvin March.

``We just switched to a different frequency, so there was no major disruption for us,'' March said. ``The DOT doesn't have the capability to switch frequencies, so they went to a temporary antenna setup.''

Three other fires have been reported in area cell phone towers recently, and a reward of up to $10,000 was being offered in the case, March said. Investigators had no suspects.