Arson suspect arrested over Spokane, Wash., wildfires. What’s burning and what happens next?

Authorities arrested a man on Monday on suspicion of setting one of the three devastating wildfires near Spokane, Wash., that have collectively destroyed hundreds of homes and forced thousands to be evacuated.

Aaron F. Farinacci, 37, of Spokane, was charged on suspicion of first-degree arson in connection with the Old Trails Fire, the second largest of the blazes, the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office said.

Farinacci had waterproof matches and a butane lighter when he was detained, Spokane County Sheriff John Nowels said at a press conference.

Officials have not said what may have caused the other two fires.

A statewide emergency was declared on Saturday. More than 67,000 people had been ordered to evacuate as of Tuesday, with the first orders issued Friday afternoon.

Spokane Mayor Lisa Brown called it “the worst natural disaster our region has faced.”

Around 3,000 homes are still without power, according to data from utility company Avista on Tuesday afternoon.

None of the three wildfires had been contained as of Tuesday afternoon, according to the Western Fire Chiefs Association.

The county initially received nearly 300 reports of missing people, but later cleared all but 14.

Citizen tip-off led to arrest

Farinacci, a convicted felon from Arizona, was spotted by a concerned citizen “looking very nervous” and bending beside the grass where the Old Trails Fire started on Aug. 1, Nowels said.

A short time later, the witness told police that they saw some smoke from the area where they had seen the male. The 37-year-old was arrested 1.5 miles from the site, but released shortly after initial questioning.

Later, when major crimes detectives started investigating using body-worn cameras, they again identified Farinacci and determined that the fire had started where the witness had seen him, which led to his arrest Monday, Nowels said.

“As it happens in so many critical cases, it was citizens who were paying attention to their surroundings, being aware and willing to step up and say something that led to the relatively quick apprehension of Mr. Farinacci,” he said.

What’s burning?

The Old Trails Fire in northwest Spokane had burned about 3,600 acres by Tuesday morning. The nearby Autumn Lane Fire had consumed more than 5,800 acres. The smallest of the three blazes near Spokane, the Fairview Fire, had burned just over 1,000 acres.

Together, the three fires had burned about 16.5 square miles as of Tuesday morning. At least 390 square miles have burned across Washington, which has contended with severe drought and a paltry snowpack.

“Hundreds of people have completely lost their homes and farms, and many are prohibited from returning to their homes or neighborhoods as crews continue to extinguish smoldering embers,” the state’s congressional delegation wrote Monday when asking President Donald Trump to approve an expedited emergency declaration.

In a press conference Tuesday morning, Tom Clemo of the California Interagency Incident Management Team 7 said upwards of 700 structures had been lost over the last 48 hours as a result of the fire.

Some residents have returned to find their homes leveled by wildfires that erupted across a parched landscape over the weekend, covering yards in charred debris. In some cases, only chimneys were left standing.

“There’s nothing to save,” Miriam Sim, 76, said Monday as she and her husband, Daniel Sim, surveyed the ruins of the home where they had lived since 2005.

“At our age, do we want to rebuild?” her husband asked.

Karen Faggioli, 61, told the Associated Press that she figured she would be returning to her home, but a relative told her that her house and three vehicles were destroyed.

“Why cry? What’s crying going to do? I’ve been through so many tragedies myself,” said Faggioli, who is recovering from breast cancer. “This is nothing. Like I told my granddaughter, ‘We’re strong — and now we get all new things.’ I’m emotionally numb.”

According to the Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) burn ban map, fire restrictions are in effect across much of Washington state.

Burn bans cover most counties in western and central Washington and extend into several counties in the east, indicating that restrictions have been implemented across a broad geographic area.

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Why they spread so fast

Forecasters had warned for days that conditions were primed for disaster.

The National Weather Service issued a “Particularly Dangerous Situation” fire-weather warning for central and eastern Washington for the duration of Saturday, a rare step reserved for the most extreme conditions. The Spokesman-Review reported it was the first such warning ever issued for eastern Washington.

The trigger was a combination of extreme heat, low humidity and wind gusts of 35 to 45 mph, on top of Washington’s fourth straight year of statewide drought. When the Old Trails Fire started near Airway Heights around noon Saturday, the wind drove it into Riverside State Park and then across the Spokane River into the city’s neighborhoods within hours.

The damage and evacuations

Authorities in Spokane issued evacuation orders on Saturday and Sunday, emptying much of the city’s northwest.

Spokane County Commissioner Chris Jordan said on Sunday relatives of his were in an area affected by the fires and didn’t know if their home was still standing. He said he spoke with them as they were leaving the home.

“They’re in their car and all they can see is smoke everywhere, and it was incredibly scary for so many people,” he said during a news conference.

The evacuation footprint has shrunk, with the remaining Level 2 and Level 3 zones — seen in yellow and red — more tightly concentrated around the Old Trails Fire near Country Homes and Riverside State Park.

The bigger picture

The Spokane fires are part of a brutal season statewide. Officials said more than 1,000 fires have burned about 425,000 acres in Washington this year, the most since 2021, with a dozen large fires still active. “This year has already been one of our busiest wildfire years on record, and we just started August,” Public Lands Commissioner Dave Upthegrove said.

What’s next

More than 1,000 firefighters, many from out of state, had arrived by Monday to tackle the blazes. That number is expected to double in the next few days.

Calmer winds and lower temperatures have helped firefighters, but it is expected that it will become hot and dry again by midweek.

The National Weather Service forecast for Tuesday indicated warm and dry conditions in Spokane, with a high of approximately 87°F. Hazy skies are expected due to smoke from ongoing wildfires, resulting in poor air quality, while the lack of precipitation and continued dry conditions are expected to contribute to ongoing wildfire concerns.

Farinacci’s first court appearance was scheduled for Tuesday, according to Spokane County Prosecutor Preston McCollam. It wasn’t immediately clear if he had an attorney who could speak on his behalf.