Three fires burn 8,000 acres, destroy hundreds of structures in eastern Washington
The Spokane County Sheriff’s Office arrested Aaron Farinacci, 37, of Spokane, on a first-degree arson charge for allegedly sparking one of three uncontained wildfires burning in eastern Washington.
Farinacci was being held on a $1 million bond, and the sheriff’s office said he was previously convicted of manslaughter in Arizona. It wasn’t immediately known whether Farinacci had legal representation.
The arrest comes as 13 large fires are burning across Washington, and the acreage burned this year is the highest since 2021, according to state data. The state has been contending with ongoing drought.
Sheriff John Nowels said authorities focused on Farinacci after receiving a tip from a citizen. A resident driving in the area where the fire started saw a man kneeling in grass before standing up and “looking very nervous,” Nowels said during a press conference. Investigators believe the suspect used matches or a lighter and that the fire began within 10 square meters of where the man was originally spotted.
The three wildfires, which have burned since the start of the month, have scorched more than 8,000 acres and destroyed hundreds of structures, Spokane County officials said Monday. Officials estimated that at least 600 structures have been “impacted throughout the fire area,” and tens of thousands of residents have been forced to evacuate. Spokane Mayor Lisa Brown described the blazes as “the worst natural disaster our region has faced.”
Gov. Bob Ferguson, a Democrat, declared a statewide wildfire emergency on Saturday and said he had requested federal assistance to help contain the blazes. The state’s Department of Natural Resources called the current season “already the most challenging, devastating fire season our state has experienced in years.”
Firefighters made some progress containing the rapidly spreading fires over the weekend, aided by cooler temperatures, Spokane County officials said. The National Weather Service in Spokane, however, forecast that temperatures would rise later in the week and that wind could heighten the potential for further fire spread.