Fire Escapes Barrel, Spreads Across Yard

A small grass fire danced through a Spokane Valley resident’s back yard Tuesday afternoon and scorched an adjoining vacant field.

A man at 701 N. Conklin, who was burning trash in a metal barrel, left it unattended, sparking the fire about 2:30 p.m., said Fred Zuber, Valley Fire battalion chief. Zuber would not identify the homeowner.

A breeze pushed the fire through the grass under several old cars the man had parked in his back yard, over a fence and into the field, away from half a dozen houses.

Chad Hall, 5, who was playing behind his grandmother’s house on Broadway, noticed the smoke from the fire, ran inside and told his parents to call firefighters.

About two dozen neighbors leaned against their fences and watched as firefighters and residents extinguished the blaze behind their houses.

Weekend rains and green grass kept the fire from spreading too fast, Zuber said.

A wet spring has left grass tall around the Valley. Zuber said Tuesday’s fire was one of many grass fires Valley Fire expects to battle this summer.

Man arrested with loaded gun

Sheriff’s deputies arrested a man for being a convicted felon in possession of a gun early Saturday after they found a loaded shotgun in the car he was driving, a spokesman said.

James E. Pilcher, 21, who gave a Spokane address, was booked into the Spokane County Jail on charges of first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm and two counts of possession of a controlled substance.

Deputies reportedly found the gun and drugs after arresting Pilcher following a traffic stop in the Yardley area.

The car Pilcher was driving squealed its tires around a corner, catching the attention of deputies about 2:15 a.m., said Jeff Tower, a Sheriff’s Department spokesman.

When deputies stopped Pilcher in the 5200 block of East Broadway, they checked his driver’s license with a dispatcher, discovered it was suspended and arrested him, Tower said.

Burglar breaks into van

A burglar swiped more than $1,000 worth of tools from a van parked next to a Valley business over the weekend.

Deputies are unsure exactly when the burglary at Tower Electric, 11401 E. Montgomery, took place. They determined only that it happened after the business closed for the weekend Friday evening and before it opened again on Monday morning.

The burglar reportedly climbed over a perimeter fence surrounding the business, pried open a window on the van and took a two-way radio, a drill and several other tools valued at about $1,500.

, DataTimes