Arson investigators looking into suspicious early morning fires in Moran Prairie neighborhood

SPOKANE, Wash. -- Spokane firefighters are investigating four early morning fires in Spokane's Moran Prairie neighborhood Thursday.

One fire was reported around 12:15 a.m. on East 47th Avenue. A shopping cart full of debris was able to be put out before spreading to nearby vegetation.

Just after 1:10 a.m., three more fires were reported on East 42nd Avenue. Firefighters found three vegetation fires with the largest being 20 by 20 feet, about the size of an average bedroom.

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Spokane Fire said all four fires are suspicious. Firefighters are looking into these fires closely to see if they're related to the other recent string of arsons in the same area.

People living in the Moran Prairie neighborhood said they have felt unsafe for the last couple years because of people camping in the field across the street.

One neighbor said their bike was stolen from their garage while they were home. Since then, they make sure to lock their doors.

For Grant Avakimov, Wednesday night's fires are just one more reason why his neighborhood feels dangerous.

"If you go hiking over there, or on a walk in those trees, you're going to see guys sleeping and it makes you not feel that safe," Avakimov said.

Part of the soccer field at the South Hill Sports Complex was burned by one of the fires. People still came out to enjoy the park during the day.

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Spokane Fire said cooler night time temperatures and calm winds helped prevent the fires from spreading.

"We're in the middle of our fire season and the fuels are dry," said Spokane Fire Department's Justin De Ruyter. "It's especially dangerous (Thursday) with the wind. If we get fire on the ground right now, that's not a good thing."

Spokane Fire is still investigating two arson cases from earlier this month at the nearby Ace Hardware store.

Anyone with information on these fires is asked to call the Arson Tip Line at 509-625-7199.

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