Spokane Arson Suspect Was Questioned in Two Earlier Blazes

The man charged with intentionally setting the largest wildfire in Spokane, Washington’s history was questioned by law enforcement during two fire investigations last year, though he was never charged in either case, according to court documents reviewed by AP News.

Aaron F. Farinacci, 37, of Spokane, was arrested Monday and booked on suspicion of first-degree arson in connection with the Old Trails Fire, the biggest of three blazes that have destroyed at least 700 buildings and forced approximately 67,000 people to evacuate their homes. His bond was set at $1 million, and he appeared in court Tuesday via video link from jail. His arraignment is scheduled for Thursday.

A Citizen’s Tip Led to the Arrest

The investigation began Saturday when Paul Child, 64, was driving with his grandson along railroad tracks in his rural neighborhood northwest of Spokane. He spotted a man standing and looking toward nearby trees. About 10 minutes later, as they were returning home, the man was still there.

“He was bent over in the brush, acting nervous,” Child told The Associated Press. “You get the feeling this guy’s up to something.”

“No longer than 10 minutes after I got home, my daughter says, ‘There’s a fire,’” Child recalled. “My first words were, ‘That SOB started a fire!’ It was the exact spot where he was standing.”

Child’s daughter called 911, and he drove back to the spot where he’d seen the man, sheriff’s detective Michael Drapeau wrote in the probable cause statement. A responding deputy saw a man matching the description walking more than a mile away and detained him. Farinacci had a backpack and fanny pack containing cigarettes, waterproof matches, and a butane lighter. He denied starting the fire and was initially released as deputies focused on evacuation efforts.

The following day, a wildland fire investigator ruled out other possible causes, including sparks from electric wires or passing trains, and police arrested Farinacci on Monday.

“As it happens in so many critical cases, it was citizens who were paying attention to their surroundings, being aware and willing to step up and say something that led to the relatively quick apprehension of Mr. Farinacci,” Spokane County Sheriff John Nowels told reporters.

Prior Contacts in Fire Investigations

A detective investigating the Old Trails Fire ran a criminal history check on Farinacci and discovered he had been contacted by law enforcement twice before during fire investigations, according to NPR.

Spokane police responded to reports of several “bus-sized” fires on July 8, 2025, near Farinacci’s apartment along the Spokane River. The fires prompted a significant emergency response, according to police records.

The following month, the Washington State Patrol made contact with Farinacci while pursuing a suspect in a wildfire at Riverside State Park. They found him on a park bench, “seemingly out of breath from possibly running.” He was wearing a green T-shirt just like the one he was seen wearing on Saturday, the document states. He was not arrested in either case.

A Criminal History Dating Back to 2010

Farinacci, then 21, shot and killed his father in Mesa, Arizona, during a 2010 argument about washing dishes, police said. He also shot himself but survived. He was charged with murder but pleaded guilty in 2012 to manslaughter and aggravated assault, records show.

A judge in 2011 found Farinacci mentally fit to assist in his own defense, though his defense lawyer raised questions about his mental health and noted multiple hospitalizations for psychiatric treatment. In a letter to the judge, Beth Farinacci, who had married his father, argued that second-degree murder would have been more appropriate.

“Manslaughter is for when someone accidentally kills another person. It is not for someone who intentionally points a loaded gun at their father and shoots him in his face and back,” she wrote.

Farinacci was released from prison in 2020 and from probation in early 2024. A probation officer noted he hadn’t completed a mental health evaluation or domestic violence treatment, according to OPB.

A Historic Disaster Unfolds

The Old Trails Fire ignited Saturday at approximately 11:56 a.m. near Old Trails Road and West Euclid Road. Within hours, high winds had exploded it to more than 3,600 acres across residential neighborhoods, Riverside State Park, and the Spokane Rifle Club. Two additional fires — the Autumn Lane Fire near Nine Mile Falls and the Fairview Fire near Mead — also ignited, together burning more than 10,000 acres with zero containment as of Tuesday.

Officials say it’s the worst natural disaster in Spokane’s history, according to Northwest News Network. Tom Clemo, incident commander of California Interagency Incident Management Team 7, said the final structure loss could range between 700 and 1,100 buildings.

“Somewhere between 700 and 1,100 is the question mark right now,” Clemo said. “And I want to be very, very clear, these numbers are preliminary and this is a complicated, complex process of determining total structure loss.”

No deaths have been reported, and all 14 people previously unaccounted for have been reached. About 400 people were staying at the Spokane Convention Center, which was converted into a shelter.

A Community in Mourning

Residents who returned to their neighborhoods found scenes of utter devastation. Miriam Sim, 76, surveyed the ruins of the home where she and her husband had lived since 2005.

“There’s nothing to save,” she said.

“At our age, do we want to rebuild?” her husband Daniel asked.

Angela Deatherage, 49, who lost her home of nearly 22 years, described the loss in stark terms: “It’s just ash. It’s like our house sunk down in the basement. … There’s just so much loss for so many people.”

Maj. Gen. Gent Welsh, the state’s National Guard commander, described the evacuation zone as a “war zone,” adding that “some of these folks may not recover, some of these folks may not rebuild in there, and it’s going to continue to be, I would say, a very significant emotional event.” BBC News also spoke with residents who lost everything, including Anna Andreachi, who said, “All of our memories are gone. My dad just died, and all of his stuff was still in there, too.”

Federal and State Response

Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson declared a state of emergency on Saturday, and his request for a federal emergency declaration was granted on Tuesday, according to the Governor’s Office. The declaration covers six counties and three Tribal nations, unlocking federal resources for search and rescue, temporary sheltering, and emergency power.

“I appreciate the federal government moving quickly and granting our request for this emergency declaration,” Ferguson said. “We are laser-focused on getting assistance to those Washingtonians who have lost so much.”

More than 1,000 firefighters, many from outside Washington state, were in the Spokane area by Tuesday. The fires are among dozens across the Western U.S. that have stretched the ability of federal, state and local agencies to fight them, with at least 390 square miles burned across Washington state alone.

What’s Next

Farinacci’s arraignment is scheduled for Thursday. Meanwhile, firefighters face a challenging forecast, with hotter, drier, and windier conditions expected later in the week. Federal authorities have also granted a law enforcement task force the authority to down drones by electronic disruption after repeated incursions disrupted firefighting operations.

Spokane Mayor Lisa Brown acknowledged the long road ahead for the community: “Hang in there with us. These needs are not gonna go away immediately. It’s really going to be a long-term process of recovery. But it’s already started. We’re all pulling together. We’re all gonna be part of it, and that’s where the hope is.”