Arson suspected in brush fires below Browne’s Addition

Police are investigating a suspected arson after a brush fire Monday afternoon burned up a steep hillside and came dangerously close to the Ridge Condominiums in Browne’s Addition.

The fire started at about 2:40 p.m. and burned somewhere between 3 and 5 acres, Spokane Fire Department spokesman Justin de Ruyter said.

Crews quickly extinguished a second fire that started about the same time across the street in People’s Park.

The fire department, with assistance from the Department of Natural Resources and Spokane Valley Fire Department, attacked the fire both from above and below the ridge and brought the fire under control in about 45 minutes.

Although it was challenging to fight on such a steep slope, de Ruyter said the brush cover was “fairly light” and the wind was calm, making it easier to control.

Residents of the condos watched from their balconies as crews put out hotspots on the smoldering bluff just below them. Some brought out garden hoses to spray the grass at the edges.

Donna Hankey was at home inside her condo when a friend called her to ask if she needed a place to stay overnight. She went outside, then smelled the smoke.

“I wasn’t too alarmed because all the firemen were there,” Hankey said. “They answered pretty fast.”

Residents complained of homeless camps below the hill recently.

De Ruyter said the fire didn’t appear to be from a campfire.

Two fires starting at the same time is suspicious, de Ruyter said, and they are investigating reports of a suspicious person.

“Any time you get two starts like that,” de Ruyter said, “obviously we got to find that person and find out the intent – but certainly we start thinking malicious.”

Spokane Police Department spokeswoman Julie Humphreys said the department is assisting in the investigation.

Arson in dry natural areas in urbanized parts of Spokane County has been a serious concern in recent years.

Vickie L. Smith was sentenced last year to nearly 3½ years in prison for setting fires in the West Hills Neighborhood and Dishman Hills last summer. Some West Hills residents were evacuated and the fires she set there threatened dozens of structures. Firefighters successfully put out the fires before any structures were lost.