Police arrest suspected arsonist after Tuesday’s fire spree in central Spokane
Spokane police arrested a 37-year-old man suspected of setting fires Tuesday near downtown Spokane.
Chad A. Horne was taken into custody shortly before 7 p.m. Wednesday in the Liberty Lake area, according to a Spokane Police Department news release.
Police thanked those who called in tips to assist in the search of Horne, who was wanted on suspicion of second-degree arson after police say he set multiple fires early Tuesday, including one that caused substantial damage to a church office and youth center.
Prior to his arrest, police said Horne was last seen about 2 p.m. Wednesday in the area of Walmart at Sullivan Road and Broadway Avenue in Spokane Valley.
Horne, who has used the name “Misty,” was arrested in June 2024 after he was accused of setting fires in bushes and a portable toilet that burned from the inside out, according to court records. Horne was located after an acquaintance of his from Hope House witnessed him lighting the last of the fires near Walnut Street and First Avenue, according to the court documents. The acquaintance alerted staff at Hope House, who reported the incident to police. Staff there had known Horne for years and identified him as the cause of a business fire that occurred in May 2024 when shown surveillance footage of the crime, court records said.
Horne initially faced a charge each of second-degree arson and reckless burning, but he pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree reckless burning and was sentenced to two months in jail in December.
Horne also was wanted on a domestic violence charge separate from Tuesday’s events.
Targets of the fires on Tuesday included the following:
• My Fresh Basket, 1030 W. Summit Parkway. A door of the grocery store was damaged.
• A former house, 310 S. Chandler St., now used as an office and youth center for Orchard Christian Fellowship. The home suffered significant damage.
• An electric vehicle charger near the Washington State University-Spokane campus.
Spokane firefighters battled 15 suspicious fires in 36 hours Tuesday and Wednesday, according to a Spokane Fire Department news release.
On Tuesday afternoon, crews responded to four fire starts near T.J. Meenach bridge that burned 5 acres and forced evacuations. Spokane Fire Department spokesman Justin de Ruyter said on Wednesday those fires were “human caused” and “not accidental.”
The Spokane police and fire departments as well as Washington State Department of Natural Resources are investigating those fires.
The fires placed Spokane Falls Community College and nearby residents under evacuations, but those were downgraded to warnings a few hours later. No structures burned.
DNR officials said the fires were fully contained and crews continued to mop up hot spots Wednesday.
Besides the ones already mentioned, the fires mentioned in the release included landscaping bushes scorched by flames shortly after midnight Tuesday in front of the Red Wagon in Riverfront Park.
On Tuesday afternoon, with assistance from Spokane County Fire District 9, crews extinguished a grass fire in a field between two homes in the 6200 block of North Atlantic Street.
At about 1:25 a.m. Wednesday, a fire was reported near North Ash Place and West Euclid Avenue, according to the release. Firefighters encountered a fast-moving fire on a hillside, threatening nearby homes. Crews positioned themselves near the homes and controlled the fire within 20 minutes.
At about 9 a.m., units responded to People’s Park on Riverside Avenue for a 50-by-50-foot fire burning grass and trees. With the help of DNR crews, firefighters brought the blaze under control in 20 minutes.
No injuries were reported in connection with the fires.
Spokane police and DNR are leading the investigations into the fires.
Editor’s note: This report was changed on July 10, 2025, to correct the address for a former house used as an office and youth center for Orchard Christian Fellowship. The address 310 S. Chandler St.