Overview
- Sheriff’s investigators arrested 37-year-old Aaron F. Farinacci on Monday and booked him on suspicion of first-degree arson in the Old Trails Fire; he is held on $1 million bond and denies the allegation.
- A witness reported seeing a man kneeling at the grass where the blaze began, deputies later matched that sighting to Farinacci, and police documents say he was found with waterproof matches and a butane lighter.
- The Old Trails Fire is one of three fast-moving Spokane-area blazes that have blackened more than 10,000 acres, destroyed roughly 700 structures, and placed about 64,000–67,000 people under evacuation orders.
- Court records show Farinacci was questioned in two separate 2025 fire investigations but not charged then, and he previously served time after pleading guilty to manslaughter in a 2010 case in Arizona.
- Investigations into the two other fires remain open while roughly 1,000 to 1,100 firefighters and federal aid are being mobilized, and officials warn long recovery and detailed damage and search work will continue for weeks.