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Carpenter Road Fire Determined Arson

U.S. Department of Agriculture via Flickr
Aircraft water drop on the Carpenter Road Fire

Fire investigators say the Carpenter road fire burning north of Spokane in Stevens County was human caused.

The fire broke out on the Spokane Indian reservation August 13th, and initially was fought by a reservation crew.

Since then numerous fire agencies have been working the fire, which has destroyed 42 structures, and burned over 65 thousand acres.

Officials with the Bureau of Indian affairs say they believe the fire was intentionally set.

BIA spokesman Tom Lavagnino says in addition to the property damage, those responsible could faces charges in connection with the death of one resident there:

"That's [possible, it depends on how law enforcement interprets it, he was in the process of evacuating, had a heart attack, and the fire got between him and the first responders and he couldn't get there in time."

The fire was discovered at 9:30pm along Westend-Wellpinit road on August 13th.

The public can help law enforcement by reporting any information they may know related to the Carpenter road fire, by calling the hotline at 1-800-47 ARSON, that's 1-800 472-7766. Callers will remain anonymous and may be eligible to receive up to 10 thousand dollars if their information leads to and arson conviction on tribal lands.

Steve was part of the Spokane Public Radio family for many years before he came on air in 1999. His wife, Laurie, produced Radio Ethiopia in the late 1980s through the '90s, and Steve used to “lurk in the shadowy world” of Weekend SPR. Steve has done various on air shifts at the station, including nearly 15 years as the local Morning Edition host. Currently, he is the voice of local weather and news during All Things Considerd, writing, editing, producing and/or delivering newscasts and features for both KPBX and KSFC. Aside from SPR, Steve ,who lives in the country, enjoys gardening, chickens, playing and listening to music, astronomy, photography, sports cars and camping.
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