Spokane fire suspect confessed to planning blaze: police

Police said Aaron Farinacci, the man suspected of starting the Old Trails Fire near Spokane, Washington, confessed to planning the blaze and to setting two dozen other fires since 2025.

The Old Trails Fire destroyed 800 structures and devastated neighborhoods as it moved through Spokane. Farinacci, 37, was arrested earlier this week in a forest near the city, where more than 65,000 people were forced to evacuate because of three fires.

Farinacci appeared in court Thursday in a yellow prison jumpsuit, and his bail was raised from $1 million to $2 million. He did not indicate whether he intended to plead guilty or not guilty.

A court document filed Wednesday said Farinacci told an investigator he had planned the fire for about two weeks and had used weather apps to choose a day with high winds, low humidity and heat. The document said he chose last Saturday because he knew it would be windy, with gusts of up to 50 miles per hour, or 80 kilometers per hour.

Police said Farinacci chose the time and place because he knew it “was gonna get bad,” but said he insisted he had not expected the fire to become so destructive.

Court records show Farinacci had spent nearly 10 years in prison for killing his father and was released in 2020. His current defense team has requested a mental health evaluation.

Firefighters have made progress against the wildfires around Spokane, a city of 230,000 people about 230 miles east of Seattle. Authorities have reported no fire-related deaths, but they warned that temperatures and winds may rise this weekend.