Overview
- A 37-year-old Spokane resident, Aaron Farinacci, was arrested and jailed on a $1 million bond on a single count of first-degree arson after prosecutors filed a case and said he would likely appear in court the next day.
- Authorities say Farinacci is accused of using matches or a lighter to ignite a roadside patch of grass where the Old Trails Fire began, and investigators re-arrested him on Monday after additional evidence was obtained.
- The three fires that began over the weekend have blackened roughly 8,000 to more than 10,000 acres and destroyed at least 700 structures with about 400 more damaged, according to incident commanders.
- Evacuation orders have pushed roughly 64,000–65,000 people from their homes, and about 1,100 firefighters are assigned to the Spokane complex while thousands more crews work nationwide.
- Officials continue to probe the origins of the two other blazes, and investigators and fire managers warn that drought, heat and dry fuels drove the fast spread and could change casualty and damage totals as teams reach inaccessible areas.