Man admitted planning Spokane arson for weeks, police say

Aaron Farinacci, 37, told investigators he planned for roughly two weeks before starting the Old Trails fire near Spokane, Wash., according to sworn police affidavits. He faces a first-degree arson charge for allegedly starting the blaze, which ultimately destroyed more than 800 buildings. He is considered legally innocent until proven guilty in court.

Farinacci said he researched optimal weather conditions for a fire and found a location where he knew the wind would push the blaze into many trees, according to court documents, according to the affidavits. He knew the fire would grow large, but didn’t intend it to cause the extent of destruction that it did, he told police. He described building a time-delay device to give him time to walk away from the fire location, he said. Several witnesses testified that they saw or interacted with him near the spot where the blaze started.

In addition to the Old Trails fire case, Farinacci has also been charged with four additional counts of first-degree arson after admitting to investigators that he started 25 smaller fires over the past year, according to court documents. He told investigators that he believed fire was powerful, beautiful, and led to rebirth, he said, according to court documents.

Dig deeper: Read Liz Lykins’ previous report on Farinacci’s arrest.