Spokane Arson Suspect Aaron Farinacci Faces 5 Charges After Admitting 25 Fires

Q: What crucial clue did a single witness near the railroad tracks provide to unmask the arson suspect?

The key clue was the witness’s detailed description of a suspicious man seen at the fire’s apparent point of origin just before smoke appeared. Paul Child told investigators he saw a bald man in a green T-shirt with a backpack lingering near the railroad tracks on West Euclid Road. When Child drove by again minutes later, he said the man was bent over in the bushes and tree line, appeared nervous when noticed, and was in the exact area where the Old Trails Fire soon began. That description gave deputies a specific person to look for and a location tied to the fire’s start. Child, his grandson and another child later identified the detained man as the same person they had seen. Authorities said that tip helped lead them to Aaron Farinacci.

3 articles · Updated · Yahoo! Voices · Aug 9

Aaron F. Farinacci, 37, now faces five first-degree arson counts after prosecutors added four charges tied to fires from July 2025 through last month; investigators say he had already been arrested over the Old Trails Fire.
Court documents say he planned the Aug. 1 Old Trails blaze about two weeks ahead, used a weather app to target high winds and low humidity, studied other arsonists and built a time-delay device.
Detectives wrote that Farinacci believed fire brings "rebirth"; his lawyer sought a competency evaluation, he entered no plea, and a judge raised bond to $2 million ahead of a Sept. 4 hearing.
The three Spokane-area fires have burned about 10,300 acres and damaged or destroyed more than 900 structures, though containment improved to 47% for Autumn Lane, 43% for Old Trails and 31% for Fairview.
Washington has logged more than 600 wildfires and 336,000 burned acres in 2026, with officials citing drought, extreme heat, low humidity and strong winds in what they call one of the state's busiest fire years on record.