The King County Prosecutor for now has declined to proceed with a case against a woman suspected of starting a fire in a garage on I Street Northeast and 22nd Street that ultimately threatened a nearby apartment complex on Thursday morning, July 18.

“Neighbors called this in because they saw a woman light the fire. Neighbors detained her, called 911, and when we arrived, we arrested her,” Auburn Police Cmdr. Mike Hirman on July 19.

But a King County Superior Court judge has since found evidence wanting to bring a case against the woman and to keep her in jail.

“The court did not find probable cause due to the information we had at the time of the hearing,” a spokesperson for the King County Prosecutor’s Office told the Auburn Reporter Monday. “The incident continues to be investigated, and charges can be filed at a later time.”

According to the Valley Regional Fire Authority, crews responded at 6:13 a.m. to the report of smoke and fire in a garage, but by the time firefighters arrived to knock down the conflagration, the building was well involved in flames and had started to spread to the apartments.

Nobody was hurt, but fire and water damage displaced two adults from their apartment. The Red Cross helped them find shelter.

Hirman described the woman as a transient in her late 30s or early 40s with mental health issues. He said the APD has had encounters with her before.