Man arrested and charged with arson in connection with Washington fires
Washington Examiner · RC · trust 65/100
A man was arrested and charged with arson in connection with one of the wildfires ravaging the area surrounding Spokane, Washington , in recent days.
Aaron Farinacci, 37, was booked on suspicion of first-degree arson over his involvement in starting the Old Trails Fire, the largest of the three wildfires around the state’s second-largest city. He is being held on a $1 million bond.
A witness alleged that they saw Farinacci kneeling near some grass where the fire began, according to the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office. Authorities released the suspect after initial questioning, but they later detained the man after detectives identified him using body-worn cameras.
“Tips from Citizens, along with information from Airway Heights Police Officers and Spokane County Sheriff’s Deputies who responded to the initial call and conducted evacuations, proved to be extremely valuable to Fire Investigators, leading to today’s arrest,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement late Monday.
Police discovered waterproof matches and a butane lighter on Farinacci when he was arrested in connection with the Old Trails Fire. It remains unclear how the two other fires started.
Together, the fast-moving wildfires have destroyed more than 700 buildings and forced over 67,000 people to evacuate the area. They also burned about 12.5 square miles by Monday.
“It’s a nightmare situation,” Gov. Bob Ferguson (D-WA) said. “This is likely the worst natural disaster in Spokane history.”
Farinacci is due in court for his first appearance on Tuesday. He had a previous conviction for felony manslaughter in Arizona .
The accused arsonist’s arrest “just takes a tragic situation and makes it more heartbreaking to think that much of this damage could have been caused by an individual doing this on purpose,” Ferguson told CNN. “It adds to a really challenging situation.”
State officials are working to contact 14 people who had called emergency services for help when the fires first broke out over the weekend, according to the governor. Initially, there were nearly 300 reports of people who called for help to evacuate or to report a missing person.
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