Third string of fires on Centennial Trail under investigation in Spokane Valley

For the third time this month, Spokane Valley firefighters doused a series of fires Thursday along the Centennial Trail that raise red flags for investigators.

Spokane Valley Fire Department crews responded to five small brush fires along the Centennial Trail near Evergreen Road and Carlisle Avenue sometime after midnight Thursday, according to a news release.

Witnesses also reported another fire erupting at the same time in Mirabeau Park. Investigators found eight separate starts and determined the fire to be arson, the news release said.

Two days prior, firefighters responded to Mirabeau Park around 2 a.m. to three separate small fires and later found a fourth. That incident was determined to be “suspicious,” according to the department.

On Aug. 2, a woman was accused of starting multiple brush fires on the Centennial Trail and arrested on suspicion of arson.

The Spokane County Sheriff’s Office arrested 44-year-old Sara Beal in connection to multiple arsons adjacent to the Centennial Trail. Law enforcement matched descriptions of a suspect from witness accounts and arrested Beal, who had pillow filling, a matchbox, branches, a camouflage jacket and a can of hairspray in her purse, the sheriff’s office said.

Beal remains in the Spokane County Jail, according to the online inmate roster.