Police arrest suspect in Spokane wildfire that destroyed hundreds of homes

Authorities arrested Aaron F. Farinacci, 37, of Spokane, and booked him on suspicion of first-degree arson in connection with the Old Trails Fire, the largest of three wildfires burning around Spokane. The arrest put a name to a case that has already overwhelmed neighborhoods across the state’s second-largest city and forced families to flee as flames spread through homes, businesses and natural areas.

Spokane County Sheriff John Nowels said the Old Trails Fire started on Aug. 1 at about 10 p.m. Investigators identified Farinacci as the suspect in the blaze, and officials said the arrest was tied specifically to the fire that authorities described as the most destructive of the three burning around the Spokane area. A press conference on the case brought together the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office, Spokane Valley Police and the Spokane County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.

The scale of the damage has been severe. The Spokane County Sheriff’s Office said the fires had destroyed hundreds of homes and other structures, while an AP report said at least 700 buildings were lost. CBS News reported that about 67,000 people were under evacuation orders amid the three wildfires, a sign of how quickly one suspected act of arson can cascade into a regional emergency when a fire is already racing through dry terrain and built-up neighborhoods.

The human toll is showing up in the neighborhoods people are trying to return to. CBS News quoted one evacuee saying, “All of our memories are gone,” a line that captured the loss facing residents who came back to burned-out streets and damaged properties. With hundreds of structures gone and thousands still displaced by the three fires around Spokane, the arrest is only one part of a broader investigation into how the blaze began and how much of the city’s fire response was already stretched by the time it hit.