In brief: Suspicious fire destroys motor home

The Spokane Fire Department is investigating the cause of a suspicious fire late Thursday that destroyed a 20-foot motor home.

The fire was reported at 11:39 p.m. in a motor home behind a residence at 1207 E. Queen, Battalion Chief Bruce Moline said in a press release.

When crews arrived, the motor home was engulfed . Some firefighters began to attack the fire while others made sure three occupants were out of the adjacent home, Moline said.

The fire was contained in about 10 minutes, and damage to the home was limited to the siding and a small portion of the roof. No injuries were reported, but the motor home was a total loss.

The cause of the blaze is unknown and is being investigated by the Spokane Fire Department Special Investigations Unit, Moline said.

Republic, Wash.

Arrest made after bomb scare

An Orient citizen was arrested Friday on suspicion of falsely claiming a bomb was in an office building in Republic, Wash.

A woman called The Spokesman-Review around 12:10 p.m. Friday and said a “big explosion” was going to happen that day at the town’s child protection services office.

“They have harassed people and stolen children just as long as they’re going to and get away with it,” she said in a phone message.

The newspaper contacted the Washington State Patrol, which worked with the Republic Police Department and the Ferry County Sheriff’s Office to determine there was no explosive device in the building.

Nada Bray was arrested and was in the Ferry County Jail as of late Friday. No other information on Bray was available, and police did not return phone calls seeking comment.

KELLOGG

Man sentenced for bank robbery

A Spokane man who robbed a Kellogg bank last spring will spend more than nine years in federal prison.

James Michael Hughes, 31, was sentenced this week to 110 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge.

Hughes admitted robbing the Wells Fargo branch on March 9. According to court records, he lifted his shirt to reveal a gun and demanded cash from the teller, then fled with $6,500.

An employee at Numerica Credit Union helped identify Hughes as a suspect, telling the FBI that the robber looked like Hughes, who had recently opened a new account at Numerica.

TWIN FALLS, Idaho

Fire area reseeded with native plants

Thousands of acres burned by a fire in southern Idaho last summer have been seeded with native plants, the Bureau of Land Management says.

The Murphy Complex of fires, started by lightning in late July, burned an area on the Idaho-Nevada border larger than Rhode Island. The fire blackened grassland used by cattle, and wildlife habitat that supports sensitive species such as sage grouse.

BLM officials said teams planted seeds on 63,000 acres before cold weather ended the work. Another 13,000 acres were seeded by aircraft.