SPOKANE, Wash. — Aaron Farinacci, the man accused of starting the Old Trails Fire, appeared before a judge today for the first time since his arrest. The judge set his bail at $1 million, and Farinacci is scheduled to return to court Thursday afternoon.
The Old Trails Fire has burned thousands of acres and destroyed hundreds of homes across the region. The investigation that led to Farinacci’s arrest began when three witnesses reported seeing him in a suspicious location near Euclid Road.
Paul Child and his grandson first spotted Farinacci along Euclid Road on their way to pick up a friend. At the time, they did not think anything of it. But 15 minutes later, when the man was still there, they became suspicious.
“He was kind of bent over. You know, he was bent over looking towards, you know, doing something in the grass and through the tree line area. And when he saw us, he immediately stood up, turned and turned around to face us and watched us the whole way,” Child said.
That suspicion grew when another 15 minutes had passed and they saw a fire beginning to grow from the same exact spot.
“I just had that gut feeling that this individual had something to do with that fire,” Child said.
In the midst of reporting the fire to 911 and evacuating, Child reported what he saw to law enforcement. Court documents show that later that day, a man matching that description—37-year-old Aaron Farinacci—was brought in for questioning. He had waterproof matches and a lighter on him.
He was later let go, until Monday night when the Sheriff’s Office arrested him for starting the fire.
“If I’m even a small part and giving them some kind of relief or satisfaction in knowing that the person that caused their pain and suffering is going to be held accountable for this, then that’s basically how I feel about it,” Child said. “That’s my reward for that.”
COPYRIGHT 2026 BY KXLY. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST, REWRITTEN OR REDISTRIBUTED.
