SPOKANE COUNTY, Wash. — Law enforcement likely just arrested a firebug.
New court documents from Spokane County state that Aaron Farinacci admitted he started the Old Trails Fire and had been planning it for weeks.
In an interview with a detective, he allegedly shared that he’d been using his weather app to predict a day that would have ‘high winds, low humidity, and sort of high heat.’
The fire is one of three actively burning in the Spokane area, destroying over 900 buildings and forcing more than 67,000 people to evacuate their homes.
Farinacci also confessed to starting 25 other fires between July 4, 2025, and August 11, 2025, according to the documents.
In an interview with a detective, he allegedly went on to say he feels fire is ‘powerful, beautiful, and that things that go through fire experience a kind of rebirth.’
He is facing five counts of first-degree arson.
The 37-year-old was arrested on Monday. A 911 caller told police he saw a man acting suspiciously in the same area where the Old Trails Fire was burning.
According to court documents obtained by KIRO 7, police found Farinacci with a fanny pack full of waterproof matches, a butane lighter, and some cigarettes about a mile away. He denied being in the area or having anything to do with the fire.
When officers said they had witnesses, he replied that those people didn’t know ‘the whole thing,’ according to the documents.
Bail was initially set at $1 million but has since been doubled to $2 million.
Farinacci did not enter a plea in court on Thursday, and his attorney requested a mental health evaluation.
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