August 22 – Police arrested a man early Tuesday morning after officers suspected he started a fire behind a billboard in downtown Spokane.
Officers responded to a large blaze behind the billboard at Sprague Avenue and Browne Street around 1 a.m., according to a Spokane Police Department press release.
The Spokane Fire Department extinguished the blaze and drenched the surrounding hillside with water, police said. The fire posed a threat to rail traffic and the city centre.
Witnesses told police they saw a man say he intended to start a fire and then light one for those in attendance to share, the press release said. The man was arrested on suspicion of second-degree reckless burning, a gross misdemeanor. Police have not released the man’s name because people charged with a crime are usually not identified
Firefighters also contained a 15-acre fire that started at a temporary camp in the Latah Valley on Sunday, according to the Spokane Fire Department. That fire is under investigation.
