Arson suspected in huge Washington wildfires; man arrested

Police arrested a 37-year-old man on Monday suspected of starting one of the three destructive wildfires blazing in eastern Washington. The Spokane County Sheriff’s office arrested and booked Aaron Farinacci on suspicion of arson in connection with the Old Trails Fire, authorities said in a statement. He was being held on a $1 million bond, Sheriff John Nowels said at a news conference. Farinacci is presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.

As of Monday evening, the Old Trails Fire near Spokane sprawled over more than 3,600 acres and was completely uncontained. It was one of three major fires in the state that began this weekend.

What led police to suspect Farinacci? A witness told police he saw a man fitting Farinacci’s description near the Old Trails Fire shortly before it started, Nowels said. The witness described the suspect as looking very nervous at the time. Police later discovered the fire had started exactly where the witness reportedly saw Farinacci.

Farinacci had previously been questioned about arson-related behavior, Nowels added. Additionally, he was convicted of manslaughter in 2012 in Arizona. In that case, Farinacci fatally shot his father during a 2010 argument, according to the Phoenix News Times.

What’s the latest status on the fires? So far, around 700 structures have been destroyed and 67,000 people forced to evacuate in the Spokane area, federal incident commander Tom Clemo said Monday. The fires in the area were not contained to any degree as of Monday evening. While the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office initially received reports of 300 missing people, as of Monday, they had cleared all but 14, according to local 4 News Now.

Also on Monday, Gov. Bob Ferguson declared a statewide emergency in response to the fires.

Dig deeper: Read Elizabeth Black’s report on the damage of the fires.