Four Tacoma-area men and a Kent man charged in connection with the deadly Chelan Hills Fire in Douglas County were on vacation in the area, according to court documents. They allegedly continued to set off fireworks after being told that they’d started a fire and rented jet skis later that day.
Valentin V. Tabunscic, 18 of Tacoma, allegedly told Douglas County Sheriff’s Office detectives that he arrived in Chelan on July 3, and he and his friends got a hotel and were just “hanging around.” He reportedly said he was with about 20 people.
Investigators determined Tabunscic was driving a Dodge Ram north on U.S. Highway 97 with five people in the bed of the truck when the fire started shortly after midnight July 4. According to charging documents, cell phone video showed Michael Yakimov, 18, shooting a “Trooper Turrett” firework from the truck bed. The firework is designed to discharge 240 Roman candles in under a minute…