Serial arsonist suspected in Spokane Valley

Fire officials believe a serial arsonist is responsible for setting 19 fires in the past week in the area south of Spokane Valley and Liberty Lake.

The first and largest fire was the wildfire near the Saltese Flats that threatened eight homes and was fought by several fire agencies on Sept. 18.

A task force was formed Thursday with representatives from Spokane County Fire District 8, the Spokane Valley Fire Department, the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office, the Liberty Lake Police Department and the Department of Natural Resources.

Seventeen of the fires were set in District 8. Two were in areas served by Spokane Valley Fire.

Investigators have noticed a pattern, said Fire District 8 Fire Chief Tony Nielsen. There have been at least two fires most days since Sept. 18. Almost all of them have been set right next to a road in semirural areas in the vicinity of homes or other structures.

“Today we’re asking for the public’s help,” Nielsen said.

Investigators are asking people to call Crime Check at (509) 456-2233 if they see any suspicious people or vehicles. Anyone with security cameras in the areas where fires have been reported are asked to check recorded footage for suspicious activity.

Fire officials have learned of three fires that were put out by passers-by and not initially reported. Anyone with information on other unreported fires is asked to report them.

Recent cooler weather has helped keep all the fires except the fire near the Saltese Flats under an acre.

“If it wasn’t for quick responses from DNR and other agencies we could have lost some homes,” Nielsen said of the Saltese Lake Fire, which grew to 8 acres. “We are concerned that somebody will be injured, either a member of the public or a firefighter, or that someone will lose a home.”

Nielsen said he was the first one on the scene of a brush fire near the railroad tracks in the area of Dishman-Mica Road and Vicari Road on Wednesday when he saw smoke while he was driving on state Highway 27.

Nielsen said he put a yellow fire resistant shirt on over his uniform, grabbed a shovel out of the back of his truck, hiked up the hill and went to work.

“The guys came over with the hoses later and said, ‘What are you doing here?’ ” he said.

Nielsen said on some days District 8 crews are all fighting the first suspicious brush fire of the day when the second is reported.

“It’s almost like they know we have limited resources,” he said. “We are stretched thin.”