Man accused of arson in Spokane wildfire to appear in court Thursday

Aaron F. Farinacci, 37, is scheduled for a Thursday arraignment on a first-degree arson charge linked to the Old Trails Fire that ignited on Aug. 1 in Spokane County. The blaze, part of the Spokane Complex Fire, has destroyed over 800 structures and forced thousands of residents to evacuate.

Farinacci has not yet entered a plea. His court-appointed public defender, Colin Charbonneau, did not respond to a request for comment before the hearing.

Police say a witness observed Farinacci near train tracks and a tree line shortly before the fire started. The witness reported that Farinacci appeared nervous as the vehicle approached. Later, the witness’s daughter saw smoke from the same area. Officers detained Farinacci about a mile from the fire’s origin.

According to the police report, Farinacci told officers he had been walking a four-mile loop near Euclid and was carrying a backpack, a fanny pack, shorts and a green shirt. Inside the fanny pack investigators found a pack of cigarettes, a butane lighter and a box of GoFire-branded waterproof matches. Police noted that Farinacci said he uses the matches to light cigarettes when a lighter is unavailable.

He was initially released at the scene because investigators said they lacked “the total facts of the incident including the point of origin or source of the fire.” Farinacci was arrested at his Spokane apartment two days later, and his bail was set at $1 million during his first court appearance.

Authorities have previously questioned Farinacci about other fires, including an unidentified July 2025 blaze and an August 2025 fire in Riverside State Park, where photos showed a man wearing a similar green shirt near the flames.

In 2010, Farinacci was involved in a fatal shooting of his father in Mesa, Arizona. He was charged with homicide, later pleading guilty to manslaughter and aggravated assault, and was released from prison in 2020.

"I use the matches to light my cigarettes when I don’t have a lighter," Farinacci told a Spokane County Sheriff’s deputy, according to the police report.

The case remains under investigation and will be updated as new information becomes available.