Overview
- Authorities arrested Aaron Farinacci, 37, on Aug. 3 and charged him with first‑degree arson for the Old Trails Fire that began on Saturday, Aug. 1.
- Court filings say detectives recorded Farinacci saying he planned the Old Trails Fire for about two weeks, studied weather forecasts for a windy dry day and built a simple time‑delay ignition device.
- Prosecutors allege he told investigators he started roughly 25 other fires dating to July 2025 but detectives have so far corroborated only a subset of those claims.
- The Old Trails Fire was the largest of three Spokane‑area blazes that together destroyed hundreds of structures and forced tens of thousands of residents to evacuate.
- A judge raised Farinacci’s bond to $2 million, prosecutors requested additional arson counts, the court is reviewing a competency evaluation request and investigators are continuing evidence work as recovery and containment proceed.