It has now been just over three years since Roel Leon set fire to the Weil Arcade and crippled Main Street in downtown Hillsboro, Oregon. It seems like yesterday to those who lived it and were here during the aftermath. Located 50 feet from the front of the burning building, our offices for the Herald were affected profoundly. From black smoke and soot to a wall being erected, which blocked us off from Main for 3 months, it was a harrowing experience.
Not only that, but the specter of the burnt vestiges of the historic Weil’s Department Store and Arcade looking over Downtown for a year or more made it difficult to function at times. Then, a month after the fire came the news that Ronnie “Ron Dog” Knapp was in the building sleeping and perished. We were honored to host a candlelight Vigil here on Main Street for Ronnie- he is missed by a wide number of friends and family.
So much history, so many memories, and so many lives were destroyed that night. Why Leon did it is a matter of speculation. Mental illness was no doubt a part of it by all accounts. I had the displeasure of being one of the few to see the video footage of the entire act of setting the fire, captured by Jose and Lucia of LaMixteca Oaxaca. Without them, a conviction for 30 years, which Leon is now spending in prison, would not have happened as quickly. There he was, Leon, in the middle of the street after setting the fire- filming the building going up in flames on its 102nd Anniversary. Dancing like the Joker, he watched in apparent glee as the flames rose into the night sky. What drives people to the edge like that we will never know.
In a little-known fact, this writer has been told that Leon, the arsonist, and Knapp, who died because of Leon, knew each other as kids. Neither knew the other was in the building. Both struggled with unaddressed mental health issues – partly because of the lack of services. The tragedy of the fire, in a way, represents the tragedy of our society and how little we do to help those in need. No excuses are offered, but we have to wonder what would have happened had these two received meaningful mental health care.
On this 3rd anniversary of that fateful day, we want everyone to reflect. We remember what happened, Ronnie Knapp, the arsonist, sure. We also remember how our Hillsboro Fire Department stepped to the line and protected the downtown core from burning. Aided by fire teams from Cornelius and other local cities, the 200-foot-high inferno was eventually suppressed, and the fire was put out. In the aftermath, so many great business owners and individuals stepped up, and without them, Downtown Hillsboro could not have recovered. And thanks to everyone who bought shirts and donated to the fire recovery fund and the Hillsboro Community Foundation for handling the funds raised and distributing them to those who applied for help.
Lastly, we thank the Weils for cleaning up the fire damage and opening the new food park with great carts on the property. All the visible history may have been lost when the building burned, but many of us in the community will never forget Weil’s and the decades of service to our community! Thank you!
Watch the Video and remember. Here are 15 stories the Herald has written over the past 3 years to cover all the aspects of the fire and the courageous comeback that has been made – 3 years to this date to get here!
Here is an update from 2023-
2 Years After, The Weil’s Department Store Fire Still Leaves A Mark
Weil Arcade Food Park Adds More Fun To Hillsboro’s New Food Cart Hot Spot
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Thanks Dirk for covering this historic event on the 3rd anniversary. It’s great to see what has grown out of the flames from that fire and to see Main Street prospering better than we’ve seen in the 20+ years we’ve been in business downtown. We were fortunate that our building at Le’Stuff Antiques across the street wasn’t physically damaged by the fire but it was a very trying time for a long period to time for us and all of our neighboring businesses to keep our “doors open” – even though several of us couldn’t use our front doors for a few months. And we congratulate those businesses directly affected by the fire to have made such heroic comebacks. Now let’s hope that we’ll see the Hillsboro Pharmacy get open so we can all enjoy those legendary milkshakes!
Good point about the mental health angle–sadly true :-(