In a matter of days, three wildfires tore through the Spokane area in eastern Washington state, blackening once-green hillsides, leveling homes and leaving behind skeletal trees and the scorched shells of cars.
Hundreds of homes have been destroyed, tens of thousands of people were forced to flee, and as the fires slow, entire communities will be left to sift through ash. Now, authorities say a man is responsible for starting one of those fires — and has admitted to igniting multiple previous blazes in the same area dating back to last year, according to prosecutors.
Aaron Farinacci, 37, of Spokane told investigators he planned the Old Trails blaze for two weeks, using a weather app to research conditions and predict a day with high winds, low humidity and high heat, according to an affidavit prosecutors filed in court.
“He feels fire is powerful, beautiful, and that things that go through fire experience a kind of rebirth,” Spokane County Sheriff’s Detective Michael Drapeau wrote in an affidavit. “He knows arson is an easy crime to get away from if you have time, and he had time.”
Farinacci was charged last week with five counts of first-degree arson, including one count tied to the Old Trails Fire, which officials say has burned more than 3,500 acres since it began August 1, destroyed more than 400 structures, and was 43% contained as of Sunday.
