Brush fire disrupts classes at the Corbin Art Center

A brush fire on the hillside near the historic Corbin Art Center on Seventh Avenue early Tuesday afternoon disrupted several summer art classes being held inside. The fire was only about 30 feet in diameter but it was in heavy brush, said Spokane Fire Department Battalion Chief Steve Sabo. The fire was human caused. “It’s not near a path,” he said. “It’s still pretty green in there. It didn’t really take off.” Art Center director Scott Niemeier said the kids under his care were having lunch when a staff member noticed smoke nearby. He believes the fire was set by two children who have been hanging around the area lately. The two, who are around 10 or 12 years old, having been breaking branches off trees in the nearby gardens and causing other problems, he said. A staff member saw them leaving the area shortly before the fire was discovered. “That’s who I suspect,” he said. “They’ve been here all summer long just always doing something wrong.”