Man arrested for starting small fire in west Spokane held on $200K bond

A 50-year-old man accused of starting a 2-acre fire Friday afternoon in the West Hills Neighborhood said he didn’t start the fire intentionally, but also that God told him to burn the land, according to court documents.

Witnesses saw Vincent J. Adolph walking “with a purpose” away from the fire and police arrested him on suspicion of felony first-degree reckless burning.

The fire burned through a grass field and trees to the south and southwest of Sunset Boulevard and Rustle Street before firefighters were able to contain it, court records say.

Investigators discovered the fire started in multiple spots, said Spokane Fire Department spokesman Justin de Ruyter.

One witness told police he was driving when he spotted smoke coming from the area of the intersection, which is located near Catholic Charities Eastern Washington’s Catalyst Project housing building, John A. Finch Arboretum and other residences, according to court documents.

The witness said he got out of his car and found several people trying to put a fire out. They told him the person who lit the fire was walking east on Sunset Boulevard, so he got back in his vehicle and drove that direction. As he approached F Street, he found Adolph wearing a white tank top with the number “23” on the back, black pants and black shoes trying to spray a substance and light it on fire.

The witness said Adolph noticed him and threw down the canister he was spraying and continued walking. The witness called police and an officer collected the auto parts engine degreaser can the defendant left behind.

Officers arrested Adolph, who officers deemed to be homeless, near the entrance to Finch Arboretum and found a torch and a lighter on the sidewalk where the defendant was arrested.

Adolph told police he was walking in the area and smoking marijuana, but he did not intentionally start the fire. He told police he hopes he “didn’t start a forest fire.”

Adolph said God told him to burn the land, which also spoke to him and that “he needed to rejuvenate the land and burn the place down,” according to court records. Police wrote that his statements about God speaking to him were “clear and thought out.”

When asked if Adolph used a torch or lighter to ignite the fire, he said he didn’t know.

A red flag warning was not in effect Friday, but extreme fire weather conditions were present given the hot temperature and gusty winds, de Ruyter said. He said other agencies, like Spokane County Fire District 10 and the Washington State Department of Natural Resources, also responded to the blaze.

The fire was located near where a woman, Vickie L. Smith, set fires three summers ago. Smith was sentenced to nearly 3½ years in prison for setting fires in West Hills and Dishman Hills on Aug. 3, 2023.

Smith told investigators God told her to light the fires to spread her message about the inability of disabled people, like her, to get housing in Spokane. She said the fires were also in retaliation for people who would not help her with her housing needs.

The fires damaged landscape and timber at Finch Arboretum and Indian Canyon Golf Course, court documents say. They also damaged property at the Catalyst Project.

Smith also admitted to writing graffiti in downtown Spokane that referred to burning the city that day.

Adolph made his first appearance Monday in Spokane County Superior Court and is set for an arraignment Thursday. He remained in jail Monday afternoon on a $200,000 bond.