Woman arrested after North Auburn fire destroys historic mill building

A 34-year-old woman was arrested early Tuesday morning after authorities said she was seen walking away from a building set ablaze that was once the home of a historic lumber mill in North Auburn.

Firefighters responded around 11:30 p.m. Monday to reports of a commercial structure fire on the 1900 block of Highway 49 near Hulbert Way, according to Cal Fire/Placer County Fire Department personnel. The building, which was fully engulfed in flames when crews arrived, was the last remaining original structure from the Cal Ida Lumber Mill. It was most recently used by California Hardwood Producers.

Placer County sheriff’s deputies arrived shortly after firefighters and detained a woman observed by a firefighter walking out of the burning building. She was later arrested by Cal Fire investigators on suspicion of arson and taken to Auburn Jail.

The suspect was identified in jail booking logs as Haley May Kiick, and she remained held in lieu of $150,000 bail on one felony count of arson.

Firefighters contained the blaze to the structure, preventing it from spreading to nearby vegetation or other buildings. No injuries were reported, the Sheriff’s Office said.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.