A 37‑year‑old man was arrested Monday on a first‑degree arson charge linked to the Old Trails Fire, one of several blazes that have destroyed hundreds of structures and forced tens of thousands to evacuate the Spokane area.
Investigators from the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office and the Washington Department of Natural Resources gathered probable cause based on citizen tips and information from responding officers, leading to the arrest of Aaron F. Farinacci.
Farinacci, a convicted felon from Arizona, has no documented history of fire‑related offenses, and authorities have not linked him to the other major fires in the region.
The sheriff’s office obtained an arrest warrant and a search warrant for Farinacci’s residence on West Elliott Drive; deputies executed the warrants Monday and arrested him without incident.
During the search, officers recovered a butane lighter and waterproof matches, and Farinacci was booked into the Spokane County Jail on a $1 million bond.
The Old Trails Fire ignited near North Old Trails Road and West Euclid Road on Saturday and remains uncontained, having become the largest of the three destructive fires in the area.
Collectively, the three blazes have destroyed at least 700 structures and prompted evacuation orders affecting roughly 67,000 residents, with more than 1,000 firefighters engaged in the suppression effort.
In response to the widespread fires, a statewide wildfire emergency was declared, suspending most outdoor and agricultural burning until September 30.
