What to know about the suspect in Spokane wildfires

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As summer wildfires continue to ravage Eastern Washington, torching hundreds of homes and forcing tens of thousands to flee, one blaze stands out for the degree of devastation and displacement it has wrought: The Old Trails Fire near northwest Spokane.This week, authorities arrested Aaron F. Farinacci, 37, of Spokane and charged him with one count of first-degree arson in connection with the blaze, which has burned more than 3,600 acres since it ignited on Aug. 1. The Old Trails Fire accounts for 80% of the more than 700 structures lost to what are collectively known as the Spokane Complex fires.More than 60,000 people have been evacuated.Here’s what we know about Farinacci.A deadly family argumentFarinacci was previously convicted of manslaughter for fatally shooting his father in Arizona in October 2010. According to court documents, the two had argued over Farinacci’s failure to wash the dishes to his father’s liking.After locking himself in a bedroom, Farinacci retrieved a .22-caliber handgun, the documents said. When his father unlocked the bedroom door and entered, Farinacci shot him in the face and then again in the back when he tried to flee.Farinacci fled from the residence on foot, then shot himself in the chest before he was arrested. He told police he had aimed for his heart instead of his head, given that his father was still mobile after being shot in the face, the documents said.Farinacci pleaded guilty to manslaughter and aggravated assault on Oct. 12, 2021 – two years and a day after his father’s death – and was sentenced to 12 years in prison and three years’ probation, records show.He was released on Dec. 23, 2020, according to the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation & Reentry, and eventually moved to Spokane.What is the Old Trails Fire?The Old Trails Fire is one of three conflagrations collectively dubbed the Spokane Complex wildfires, which also include the Autumn Lane and Fairview fires. More than 1,400 firefighting crews have been assigned to fight the blazes, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.The blaze began west of Washington’s second-largest city on Saturday before winds quickly drove it eastward toward Spokane’s northwest neighborhoods, according to The Spokesman-Review in Spokane.The Old Trails Fire has grown to encompass more than 3,600 acres since igniting on Saturday. While the Autumn Lane fire has burned nearly 5,900 acres, the Old Trails fire accounts for 80% of the more than 700 structures lost to the Spokane Complex blazes.Washington and Oregon account for more than 2 million of the nation’s more than 5 million acres burned so far in 2026. The Spokane Complex fires are among more than three dozen large fires still burning or being actively monitored in those two states.What led to the arrestThe sheriff's department did not disclose many specifics about the arrest but said that Farinacci was charged after a witness came forward to say they had seen a suspicious person acting nervously at the scene of the fires.Authorities did not identify the witness. The Spokesman-Review interviewed a citizen, Paul Child, 64, who said he was driving through the area when he noticed a man, later identified by police as Farinacci, on the other side of the train track that parallels the roadway. He said he didn’t think anything of it until he drove back the other way and saw the man crouched in the same grassy area.“When he saw us, he stood up and faced us, and he kind of was a little fidgety, moving back and forth a little bit, just kind of looked nervous,” Child told the newspaper.A little while later, Child said his family noticed smoke in the distance.“My immediate thought was that SOB started a fire,” Child told The Spokesman-Review.Farinacci was found with matches and a lighter, Spokane County Sheriff John Nowels said, but according to an affidavit denied starting the blaze.He was initially released, The Spokesman-Review reported, then arrested on Monday and booked into Spokane County Jail on $1 million bond.'Who needs luck, I have charm'A former neighbor who lived in Farinacci’s Mesa, Arizona, neighborhood more than a decade ago told the newspaper she and her sister occasionally looked after Farinacci’s mother after his father’s death, dropping off meals at her home.Marama Platt, now a resident of Idaho, recalled hearing the sirens that day but had largely forgotten about him until her sister contacted her about this week’s arrest.“I was shocked I knew him,” Platt told The Spokesman-Review. “We know the background of what he did before, and how horrible it was . . . . My heart aches for the people of Spokane and my heart aches for (his family)." I can’t believe I’m saying that.”"According to the affidavit, law enforcement contacted Farinacci regarding fires at least twice in 2025. On one occasion, in August 2025, he wore the same green shirt that he was wearing when detained by authorities last weekend.According to The Spokesman-Review, the shirt reads: “Who needs luck, I have charm.”Farinacci made an initial appearance in court Tuesday and is set to be arraigned on Thursday.Contributing: Dinah Voyles Pulver, Jeanine Santucci, N'Dea Yancey-Bragg, USA TODAY; Perry Vandell, USA TODAY Network-Arizona