Man cleared of fault after trash burns out of control, kills 79-year-old

LACEY, Wash. —A man arrested on a felony warrant Friday following a deadly house fire sparked from a trash burn was cleared of all wrongdoing, the Thurston County Sheriff's Office said.

According to the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office, fire crews were called to a report of two homes on fire Wednesday morning in the 3200 block of 78th Street SE. Crews arrived on the scene and worked to put out the fires, which were aided by debris, ammunition and propane tanks scattered around the homes.

A 79-year-old man was found dead inside one of the homes, fire crews said.

The Thurston County Sheriff’s Office says the initial investigation found that a man and a woman, who lived at the home, were burning debris in a homemade fire pit in the backyard when it spread to the house.

Witnesses told authorities there was an explosion. When firefighters arrived around 2:45 a.m., the house was engulfed in flames. Once the fire was out, they found a man dead inside the house.

Lt. Cliff Ziesemer says detectives later arrested the woman, 32-year-old Nicole McPherson, on an outstanding felony warrant. On Friday, detectives arrested 39-year-old Aaron Meyers, who reportedly left the area before firefighters or deputies arrived, on a felony warrant.

However, Meyers was interviewed -- and since no evidence put him at the scene of the fire -- he was released. He is no longer a person of interest, deputies said.