UPDATED Friday, Jan. 19: The Juvenile Court administrator in Hood River, Angie Tennison, announced Friday that the teen accused of starting the Eagle Creek fire is scheduled to appear in court Feb. 16 at 9 a.m.

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The Vancouver teen accused of starting the Eagle Creek fire is scheduled to appear in court next month, where he is expected to enter a plea.

A hearing at the Hood River County Courthouse is set Feb. 16, more than five months after prosecutors say fireworks set off the blaze that torched vast swaths of the Columbia River Gorge.

A police investigator this week alerted potential victims of the fire about the hearing and said "I believe it is the intention for the case to be resolved that day."

The Juvenile Court administrator in Hood River, Angie Tennison, said she couldn't release the date yet because it was still being firmed up. The District Attorney's Office also declined comment.

The boy faces charges of reckless burning, depositing burning materials on forest lands, unlawful fireworks possession, criminal mischief and recklessly endangering other people.

The 48,831-acre wildfire changed the landscape in the scenic gorge and forced hundreds of evacuations and an extended shutdown of Interstate 84. Many popular trails and landmarks remain closed.

When the investigation began, state police said they would release the teen's name, but changed their minds soon after and said they would protect his identity even in the event of an arrest, citing concerns about the outcry and possible backlash against him and his family.

The Oregonian/OregonLive typically doesn't name youths charged in Juvenile Court unless they face Measure 11 crimes. None of the accusations in this case fall under the mandatory-sentencing statute.

Reckless burning and recklessly endangering other people are misdemeanors and criminal mischief can be a misdemeanor or a felony.

Defendants who ignite fires by setting off fireworks or flicking cigarettes into the brush commonly face reckless burning charges, not arson, under Oregon law.

-- Shane Dixon Kavanaugh

skavanaugh@oregonian.com

503-294-7632 || @shanedkavanaugh