A man charged with starting one of the wildfires in Spokane, Washington, that have destroyed hundreds of buildings planned the crime for weeks and researched when the weather would be best for igniting it, police said.
Aaron Farinacci expressed that “fire is powerful, beautiful, and that things that go through fire experience a kind of rebirth,” Spokane County Detective Michael Drapeau said in a court filing Wednesday, recalling his interview with him.
Farinacci, 37, is charged with starting the Old Trails Fire, one of three fires in the Spokane area that have burned more than 850 homes and forced the evacuation of tens of thousands of people. He is also charged in connection with two smaller fires ignited in the summer of 2025.
He was scheduled to be arraigned on three first-degree arson charges Thursday, but his lawyer asked for a competency evaluation before he enters a plea. Spokane Superior Court Judge Jeremy Schmidt said he would review that request. He set bond for $2 million, ruling that Farinacci was a risk to community safety, a flight risk and that there was potential for a violent offense.
Defense attorney Colin Charbonneau did not immediately return messages seeking comment.
Farinacci researched the weather to predict a day that would have “high winds, low humidity, sort of high heat” for starting the fire, Drapeau said. He also looked up the work of a well-known serial arsonist and purchased items to make a “time delay device” for igniting a wildfire, using notebook paper, matches, a cigarette and a rubber band, the detective said.
Farinacci picked Saturday, Aug. 1, to start the fire because he knew there would be strong winds — reaching 50 mph (80 kph), the detective said.
He said he knew it ”‘was gonna get bad,’” the detective said, but Farinacci claimed he didn’t intend it to grow as much as it did.
Paul Child, 64, has been credited with leading police to Farinacci. He was driving with his grandson along some railroad tracks when he saw a man standing there and looking toward nearby trees. About 10 minutes later, the man was still there.
“He was bent over in the brush, acting nervous,” Child told The Associated Press on Tuesday. “You get the feeling this guy’s up to something.”
Drapeau said Farinacci also admitted responsibility for 25 fires near his apartment building in summer 2025. Most were near the Spokane River or the Centennial Trail.
Farinacci said he didn’t think the Aubrey White Fire in July 2025 would cause damage but “one house got ‘slightly damaged’ from the side,” the detective said.
That fire was added to the charges, as well as the Meenach Fire, the court filing states.
Farinacci served about a decade in prison after killing his father in Mesa, Arizona, in 2010. He also shot himself at that time but survived.
He was charged with murder but pleaded guilty in 2012 to manslaughter and aggravated assault. Farinacci’s lawyer repeatedly raised concerns about his mental health during the case.
Drapeau said Farinacci indicated that he moved to the Copper River Apartments in the Spokane area in October 2022.
A son was born in 2025 and “he began having trouble dealing with life issues,” the detective said. “He began smoking marijuana at about this time.”