Arson suspect Aaron Farinacci waits for his initial court appearance by video at the county courthouse in Spokane, Wash., Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026.
Young Kwak / AP
The man accused of setting one of the most destructive fires in Washington state is now facing five counts of first-degree arson. Aaron F. Farinacci, 37, appeared in court for his arraignment Thursday after he was charged in connection with the Old Trails Fire. That fire, along with two others that sparked on Saturday, Aug. 1, have burned more than 800 buildings in Spokane County.
In court documents filed the night before the arraignment, investigators said Farinacci said he started 25 fires since July of 2025. They corroborated four of those fires, and added those charges to his case.
At the scheduled hearing Thursday, Farinacci’s court-appointed public defender requested his client undergo a competency evaluation to see if he is fit to stand trial. OPB has reached out to Farinacci’s appointed lawyer, who did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
Spokane County Superior Court Judge Jeremy Schmidt signed the order for a competency evaluation shortly after the arraignment, a court clerk told KUOW reporter Paige Browning in the courtroom. This temporarily pauses court proceedings to complete the evaluation.
Witness reports
Farinacci was arrested after being identified by a man driving with his grandson just before noon Saturday. According to a police report, the man told officers that he saw a person, who was later identified as Farinacci, standing near a set of train tracks and looking into a tree line. The man said that when he drove by again, the person was still in the area and “acting nervous” as his vehicle approached. After returning home, the man’s daughter noticed smoke from the same area where Farinacci had been spotted.
Police detained Farinacci on Saturday about a mile away from where the fire started. Farinacci told police he was coming from the Euclid area after walking a 4-mile loop, a trail he said he walks nearly every day. He was wearing a backpack, a fanny pack, shorts and a green shirt that read, “Who needs luck I have charm,” in white letters.
Inside Farinacci’s fanny pack was a pack of cigarettes, a butane lighter and GoFire-branded rain-ready, heavy-duty waterproof matches. The box contained 14 of the 25 matches advertised on the packaging, according to police. Authorities said Farinacci told a deputy with the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office that he uses the matches to light his cigarettes when he doesn’t have a lighter. However, he was released at the scene due to police not having the “total facts of the incident including the point of origin or source of the fire,” a police report says.
Farinacci was arrested at his apartment in Spokane two days after the Old Trails Fire started. His bail was set at $1 million during his first court appearance. In his most recent appearance, bail was raised to $2 million.
Prior behavior
Police have questioned Farinacci about fires in the past. Investigators spoke with Farinacci twice in 2025 in connection with other fires. Once for an unidentified fire in July, and another time for the Equestrian Fire in Riverside State Park in August. Photos from the Equestrian Fire showed a man in the same green, short-sleeved shirt as Farinacci near the flames.
Farinacci is now facing charges for that fire, the Old Trails Fire, Aubrey White Fire, TJ Meenach Fire, Equestrian Fire, and the Indian Bluff Fire.
In 2010, Farinacci, 21 at the time, shot and killed his father in Mesa, Arizona, following an argument over washing the dishes, according to police. He also turned the gun on himself, but survived his injuries.
Court records show he was initially charged with homicide, ultimately pleading guilty to manslaughter and aggravated assault. He was released from prison in 2020.
Correction: A previous version of this story inaccurately spelled Farinacci’s name. OPB regrets the error.
This story was reported in partnership with the Northwest News Network, a collaboration between public media organizations in Oregon and Washington, including Spokane Public Radio.
It is part of OPB’s broader effort to ensure that everyone in our region has access to quality journalism that informs, entertains and enriches their lives. To learn more, visit our journalism partnerships page.
