Four suspicious fires along Moran Prairie under investigation

Spokane police are investigating four suspicious fires along Moran Prairie.

Firefighters responded to a call at 12:15 a.m. Thursday on the 2700 block of East 47th Avenue. Upon arrival, they found a shopping cart ablaze with debris inside.

Almost an hour later, at 1:10 a.m., firefighters from the Spokane Fire Department and Spokane County Fire District 8 arrived on the 3100 block of East 42nd Avenue and put out three fires burning through vegetation. The largest of the three brush fires covered a 20-by-20-foot area.

All four reported fires were quickly extinguished. No one was hurt, no property was lost, and no real damage was done, according to Justin de Ruyter, the Spokane Fire District’s public information officer.

The Spokane Police Department is investigating whether these fires are connected to previous arsons from earlier this month. One of those happened on July 19 at a Conoco car wash off South Regal Street and 44th Avenue. Damage from this fire was expected to be around $150,000. On the same block, two other arsons were reported this month at an Ace Hardware.

“We’re actively investigating, and we are looking for commonalities in these fires and some of the other ones we’ve had on the South Hill,” said Julie Humphreys, the public safety communication manager for the Spokane Police Department. “Investigators are looking at all possibilities.”

Humphreys said that anyone with information should call Crime Check or the arson tip line at (509) 625-7199.