INFORMATION RELEASE

On 8/1/2022 at about 1:45 a.m., the Juneau Police Department received several 911 calls regarding a structure fire in the 9400 block of La Perouse Ave. It was reported that the fire was currently on the first floor of the building complex, which contains storage units, with the second story being apartments. It was also reported that several people were still inside the second floor apartments and were trying to evacuate the building.

CCFR and JPD responded to find heavy smoke, flames and people trying to evacuate the building. While the building was on fire, at-least six occupants had to be evacuated from the burning building. CCFR was able to suppress the fire, but the building sustained heavy damages. The CBJ Fire Marshal estimated damage of the building to be around $350,000. There were no reported injuries caused by the fire.

During the preliminary investigation, it was determined that the fire appeared to be intentionally set and a suspect was a identified. The fire appears to be related to an incident earlier in the evening when the suspect showed up at one of the apartment's looking for a piece of property. It is alleged that the suspect pried off a license plate from a vehicle in a nearby parking lot and then set the fire.

On 08/03/2022, officers contacted the identified suspect, 28-year-old Juneau resident, Adele Miyasato-Petaja. She was placed under arrest and taken to the Lemon Creek Correctional Center. Adele Miyasato-Petaja is currently be charged with one count of arson in the first degree, a class A felony offense and one count of theft in the fourth degree, a class B misdemeanor.