A Spokane man has been arrested for allegedly starting one of the three wildfires currently scorching a large part of Washington state. Spokane County Sheriff’s investigators arrested Aaron Farinacci, 37, Monday on suspicion of first-degree arson in connection with the Old Trails Fire.
He’s being held on a $1 million dollar bond and is expected to appear in court Tuesday.
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What we know about the suspect
Sheriff John Nowels said a witness reported seeing a man kneeling in the grass where the fire is believed to have started and “looking very nervous.” The Old Trails Fire was first reported on Aug. 1 at around 12 p.m., near the intersection of N. Old Trails Road and W. Euclid Road in Spokane.
Nowels said the witness returned home and then saw smoke coming from the area where he saw the man, so he called police. He said they found the man, later identified as Farinacci, about a mile and a half from where the fire started.
They detained and questioned him, but released him later that same day because they were needed elsewhere as the fires worsened. Nowels said at the time, Farinacci had a butane lighter and waterproof matches on him.
“By the way, it is a continuing and ongoing investigation,” Nowels said at a news conference on Monday, “We will be looking into any other crimes Mr. Farinacci may have have committed in the past. We will also be looking into other charges that may come about as the facts and circumstances of the Old Trail fire come to light and come to be known. Just know that this charge is what we have probable cause for right now.”
The sheriff added Farinacci has a prior manslaughter conviction out of Arizona.
Crews continue to battle the blazes
Meanwhile, firefighters are racing to take advantage of their best weather conditions in days, before hotter, drier weather returns later this week.
Fast moving flames have destroyed more than 700 homes, businesses and other buildings. Tens of thousands of people remain under evacuation orders.
The fires are still uncontained, but lighter winds and cooler temperatures Tuesday are expected to give crews their first real opportunity to slow them down.
The scenes across Spokane are staggering: burned-out neighborhoods, twisted cars and in some places, only chimneys left standing.
AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson 
AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson 
AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson 
AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson 
AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson 
Erick Doxey / AFP via Getty Images 
Erick Doxey / AFP via Getty Images 
Erick Doxey / AFP via Getty Images 
Erick Doxey / AFP via Getty Images 
Erick Doxey / AFP via Getty Images 
Erick Doxey / AFP via Getty Images
Lizzie Davis is among those returning home. She returned to see the house she grew up in which has been relegated to just charred ruins.
“My dad had actually just finished paying off the house,” she said. “Yeah, he worked really hard for that. And I’m really grateful for everything that he was able to provide for my family. It was a beautiful home. It really was. It’s a very, very hard loss.”
Officials say they’ve received hundreds of reports of missing people, though most have now been accounted for, and so far there have been no confirmed deaths or major injuries.
Forecasters warn the break in the weather will be short-lived. Hotter, drier conditions are expected to return in days, threatening to reignite the firefighters’ battle.
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