Environmentalists Lay Claim to Fire

An underground group of environmental activists claimed responsibility for a fire at the U.S. Forest Industries headquarters in Medford, Ore., that caused $500,000 in damage. In a fax, the Earth Liberation Front said the Dec. 26 fire was “in retribution for all the wild forests and animals lost to feed the wallets of greedy” corporations. The office that burned was headquarters for four mills--a White City veneer mill, a Grants Pass plywood mill, a Colorado stud mill and a Florida sawmill. Last fall, ELF claimed responsibility for an Oct. 12 fire at Vail, Colo., that destroyed four ski lifts and a utility building.