A Vernon County mobile home fire results in arrest for arson

Vernon County Sheriff Roy Torgerson reports the arrest of Ora H. Wallace, age 67, of rural Viroqua. On Thursday (November 27) afternoon, at approximately 3:30, the Sheriff’s Office 911 Dispatch Center received a report of a mobile home fire along County Road SS, rural Viroqua, in the Town of Liberty. Responding to the fire were the Viola, Viroqua, and Readstown Fire Departments, Kickapoo Valley Rescue Squad, Viroqua Police Department, and the Sheriff’s Office. The family residing in the mobile home were in the process of moving out, but not home at the time of the fire which resulted in a total loss. All units were clear from the scene, that evening, by 6:00.

Information quickly developed indicating that the fire was set intentionally.  The investigation continued and Ora H. Wallace, who lives across the road from the mobile home, was arrested for Arson and transported to the Sheriff’s Office Detention Center. A Probable Cause Affidavit has been submitted for review and Wallace is expected to appear in Vernon County Circuit Court on Monday (December 1).  Formal charges will be sought through Vernon County District Attorney Angela Palmer-Fisher. The incident remains under investigation by the Sheriff’s Office and the Viola Fire Department.  Assistance has been sought through the state fire marshal, an extension of the Wisconsin Department of Justice.

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