The arrest answers one question in a fast-moving wildfire emergency, but officials say it does not explain the other major fires burning around Spokane. Residents are still facing evacuations, property losses and uncertain containment.
Authorities arrested a man on suspicion of arson in one of three wildfires burning in the Spokane area of Washington state, tying the case to the Old Trails Fire as residents face evacuations, destroyed structures and a fast-moving regional emergency. The Spokane County Sheriff’s Office said Aaron Farinacci, 37, was arrested Monday in connection with the fire, the largest of the three major Spokane-area blazes.
The arrest matters because the fire’s impact on residents and property is playing out alongside broader disruption: authorities have reported thousands evacuated, hundreds of structures lost and no evidence so far tying Farinacci to the two other major fires in the region.
Arrest tied to Old Trails
Spokane County Sheriff John Nowels said Farinacci was taken into custody without incident after a judge signed a warrant based on an allegation of first-degree arson, according to NBC News. The arrest was made with help from a SWAT team, officials said.
Farinacci was being held on $1 million bond, Nowels said. As of the initial reports, it was unclear whether he had been formally charged or whether he had an attorney who could speak on his behalf.
The case centers on the Old Trails Fire, not the full cluster of fires burning around Spokane. That distinction is important: officials described the Old Trails Fire as the largest of three major blazes in the Spokane region, but Nowels said there was no evidence connecting Farinacci to the other two.
Why this fire stands out
The Old Trails Fire had burned 3,619 acres, according to the figures cited by officials Monday. The three major fires together had burned more than 8,000 acres and were zero percent contained Monday night, federal incident commander Tom Clemo said.
Clemo said the fires had destroyed an estimated 700 structures and caused evacuations affecting 67,000 people in the Spokane area. Those numbers explain why an arson arrest in one fire is drawing attention far beyond a criminal case file.
For residents, the immediate concern is not only how a fire started. It is whether homes, roads, power lines and neighborhoods remain in danger while crews are still trying to gain control.
Evidence officials described
Nowels said the Old Trails Fire started around 10 a.m. Saturday. Investigators focused on Farinacci after a witness reported seeing a man near the area shortly before the fire began, according to the sheriff’s account.
The witness told police the man was looking into the trees and was later seen crouching near grass at the side of a road before standing up, appearing nervous and walking away, Nowels said.
Deputies detained Farinacci later that day about a half-mile from where the fire started and questioned him, but he was released at the time, officials said. Nowels said he had waterproof matches and a butane lighter, items investigators said could have been used to start a fire.
By Sunday, major crimes detectives had linked him to the blaze, according to Nowels. The sheriff said investigators determined the fire’s origin was in the same place where witnesses had seen Farinacci kneeling in the grass.
Residents face a wider emergency
The criminal investigation is only one piece of what Spokane-area residents are dealing with. Three major fires burning at the same time can strain evacuation routes, shelter capacity, firefighting resources and public information systems.
When officials say hundreds of structures have been lost, that can include homes, outbuildings, businesses or other property. The human toll behind that estimate is still being measured: families displaced, pets and livestock moved, medications left behind, and neighborhoods waiting to learn what survived.
Wildfire evacuations also create hard choices for people who may not have cars, money for hotels or nearby relatives. Even when an evacuation is temporary, the disruption can be severe for older residents, people with disabilities, families with children and workers who cannot easily leave jobs.
The zero-containment figure reported Monday night made the uncertainty sharper. Until firefighters build control lines and weather conditions cooperate, residents may not know when they can return or whether additional areas will be ordered to leave.
Legal stakes remain limited
The allegation against Farinacci is serious, but it remains an allegation. An arrest on suspicion of arson does not establish guilt, and any criminal case would still need to move through court.
Spokane County Prosecuting Attorney Preston McCollam said Farinacci was scheduled to appear in court Tuesday. McCollam also said Farinacci had previously been questioned about “arson-related behavior,” though he had not been arrested or convicted in those earlier matters.
McCollam said Farinacci had a criminal record in Arizona, including a manslaughter conviction. That history was cited by officials, but the current case still depends on the evidence tied to the Old Trails Fire.
For investigators, the key legal questions will likely include where the fire began, who was there, whether any ignition source can be tied to the suspect, and whether prosecutors can prove intent. Fire investigations can be complex, especially when burn areas are large and conditions change quickly.
What remains unclear
The arrest does not explain the full Spokane wildfire emergency. Officials have not said Farinacci is linked to the other two major fires, and the causes of those fires remain separate questions based on the available information.
It is also unclear how quickly evacuation levels will change, when containment will improve, and how many of the damaged or destroyed structures were homes. Those details matter for insurance claims, disaster aid and the long recovery that follows a major wildfire.
The public focus may stay on the arson allegation because it offers a clear storyline in a chaotic disaster. But the larger picture is messier: fire crews are still working, residents are still displaced, and investigators are still sorting what happened across multiple burn zones.
For now, the confirmed center of the criminal case is the Old Trails Fire. The broader crisis is three major wildfires around Spokane, with thousands of people affected and many answers still pending.
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