Story thread · 48 reports / 44 sources

Man charged with arson in Spokane told police he planned it for weeks

deseret.com · 4dShare

Three large fires that flared up in eastern Washington state last weekend forced 67,000 people to evacuate and burned more than 850 structures. Aaron Farinacci, a 37-year-old Washington man arrested for deliberately starting one of the fires, told law enforcement officials he planned the spark for weeks. While being interviewed in custody, Farinacci told Spokane County Detective Michael Drapeau that fire “is powerful, beautiful, and that things that go through fire experience a kind of rebirth,” according to Spokane County court documents released Wednesday. Farinacci said he began planning the fire, now known as the Old Trails fire, approximately two weeks before August 1. He told officers he “researched his weather app” to choose a day that would have “high winds, low humidity, sort of high heat.” After conducting his research, Farinacci had the day “planned out, the weather was planned out” for conditions “ideal to start a fire” and “let the fire take its course.” Farinacci said he

First report: Man charged with setting Spokane's largest wildfire was questioned about 2 other blazes last year — timesfreepress.com, 6d