Arsons and suspicious fires fueled Spokane’s summer as another arrest is made

Four large arsons and other suspicious fires marred parts of Spokane this year, with law enforcement netting a second arrest on Saturday.

The Spokane County Sheriff’s Office arrested 44-year-old Sara Beal on Saturday in connection to multiple arsons on the Centennial Trail over the weekend.

Spokane County and Spokane Valley Sheriff’s deputies responded to the area of East Dalton Avenue and North Woodruff Road that day to assist Spokane Valley firefighters with a brush fire, according to a release from the sheriff’s office. Hours later, another fire started northeast of Coyote Rock Drive. Law enforcement was able to match descriptions of a suspect from witness accounts and arrest Beal, who had pillow filling, a matchbox, branches, a camouflage jacket and a can of hairspray in her purse.

The fires ultimately had 11 to 16 small starts, according to a news release from the Spokane Valley Fire Department.

Many of the suspicious fires this year have yielded no arrests.

On May 25, Spokane’s South Hill could have been evacuated, had the arson fire on the bluff gotten worse. The fires near High Drive and Bernard Street were started deliberately, police said at the time. While they spread along the trees on the hillside, firefighters were able to extinguish the multiple starts quickly.

No arrests in that case have been made, according to Spokane Police Officer Daniel Strassenberg, although police did question a 37-year-old man believed to be walking away from the fires at the time. Witnesses also reported a man with pink hair walking away from the fires and acting erratically.

On July 8, the hills above the Spokane River near Elliott Drive erupted into smoke and flames in the late afternoon. Firefighters at the scene said the fire, which was fought with a helicopter pulling water from the river and multiple engines, had four separate starts.

As of Monday, Spokane Fire Department spokesperson Justin de Ruyter said the fires were indeed arson, but no arrests have been made.

A day later, 37-year-old Chad Horne, a man with pink hair, was arrested in connection to separate arsons that started in Spokane’s downtown. He admitted to starting a fire outside My Fresh Basket, a Washington State University electric vehicle charging station and other fires in the area of 310 S. Chandler St., 324 S. Grant St. and 334 S. Grant St., according to court documents.

Two other arsons were also reported in May and July, one being a bin on fire at the Public Safety Building and the other a tree and a shed in north Spokane.