Tresham Gregg on Wednesday morning reviewed the charred front to his Sea Wolf Gallery, which was significantly damaged by fire late Tuesday night. A suspect was arrested and charged with arson.
A woman has been charged with arson for starting a fire late Tuesday night that caused significant damage to the Sea Wolf Gallery log cabin building and artwork.
Tresham Gregg, the gallery owner, the next morning estimated damage to the Fort Seward building and contents at about $100,000. “I lost a lot of artwork,” he said.
Darsi Johnson, 50, was arrested Tuesday night and held in custody. She appeared telephonically at a court hearing Wednesday morning before state District Court Judge Linn Asper, who set bail at $15,000.
The arson charge is a felony, as are two other counts filed against her. Johnson also was charged with felony arson for allegedly starting a fire in a dresser drawer in a Matrix Road home where she was living with other people. Another occupant of the home extinguished the fire before it spread.
According to the probable cause statement filed by police in the home arson, Johnson allegedly attacked one of the occupants of the home, biting and stabbing the victim with a nail file. Police filed a misdemeanor assault charge against Johnson.
“We believe Ms. Johnson … had ingested a hallucinogen,” police chief Heath Scott testified in court.
In setting the $15,000 bail, the judge said, “I’ve never seen in Haines such a string of cases in such a short time.” He cited the danger to the community of granting Johnson’s release, adding, “I imagine (the bail) will keep Ms. Johnson in custody for the near future.”
The suspect requested and was appointed a public defender. The felony charges will likely now go to the grand jury.
In the complaint filed with the court, the police reported that Johnson admitted to setting the fires and attacking the victim at the home.
Police arrested Johnson near Fort Seward Drive and Second Avenue while responding to the art gallery fire. The small fire at the home was set before the art gallery blaze.
Gregg said he does not know the suspect and just happened to look out his home window around midnight to see his art gallery on fire. He lives a couple hundred yards away, he said. “We rushed down there.”
Assistant fire chief Darwin Feakes said the cause of the fire at the gallery is under investigation. It took firefighters about 15 minutes to knock down the flames, though the crew was on the scene about two hours. He said 14 firefighters responded to the call.
The front of the art gallery building was heavily charred. The front windows blew out in the fire, allowing flames inside, though most of the interior damage was from smoke and water, Gregg said.
All of the artwork in the gallery was Gregg’s, including wood carvings, prints, jewelry and metal sculptures.
Gregg has operated the gallery for about 40 years, rebuilding the log structure 16 years ago with spruce logs from Haines Junction, Gregg said. The logs are eight inches thick. He said he rents the building from Alaska Indian Arts. The gallery has been closed this summer, due to the shutdown in summer tourism.
Gregg said he did not have insurance on the contents.