Paul Child was driving with his grandson in a rural and fielded area near Spokane, Washington, to a neighbor’s home Saturday when he says they spotted a man pacing on the side of the road who looked at them when they passed by.
Although it was peculiar enough to take notice, Child didn’t give it much thought. But just 15 minutes later, after picking up his grandson’s friend, the three were on their way back to Child’s home when he says they again saw the man in the same spot — but this time, he was bent over near the bushes and acting nervous.
It wasn’t until a few minutes after they returned home that Child says he put the pieces together. His daughter said there was a fire, and when Child ran outside, he says he saw a plume of smoke billowing from the same location where he saw the man.
Three days later, more than 10,000 acres have been engulfed, tens of thousands of people evacuated and hundreds of homes destroyed as three wildfires tear through the Spokane area. Child’s account of the man he saw helped law enforcement identify Aaron Farinacci, 37, as a suspect they say caused the Old Trails Fire, the first of the three fires tearing through eastern Washington to be detected, officials said.
