![\"Spokane](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/260803-spokane-County-Sheriff-John-Nowels-vsb-2330-098ce7.jpg\")
Spokane County Sheriff John Nowels at a news conference in Spokane, Wash., on Monday.<\/p>\nA 37-year-old Spokane, Washington, resident with a previous manslaughter conviction was arrested Monday in connection with the largest of the region\u2019s three wildfires, which have displaced thousands of people and destroyed hundreds of structures, authorities said.<\/p>\n
Aaron Farinacci, 37, was taken into custody without incident with the help of a SWAT team after a judge signed a warrant based on an allegation of first-degree arson, Spokane County Sheriff John Nowels said at an evening news conference.<\/p>\n
Spokane County Sheriff John Nowels at a news conference in Spokane, Wash., on Monday.<\/p>\n
Farinacci was being held on $1 million bond, he said. It was unclear whether he has been formally charged or has a lawyer, and the Spokane County public defender\u2019s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday night. <\/p>\n
Farinacci was arrested after police said a witness reported seeing a man near the Old Trails Fire shortly before it started around 10 a.m. Saturday, Nowels said. The witness told police the man was looking into the trees and was later seen crouching at the side of a road near some grass, before he \u201cstood up and looked very nervous\u201d and walked away, Nowels said. <\/p>\n
Deputies detained Farinacci the same day about a half-mile from where the fire started and questioned him, but he was ultimately released, Nowels said. He had waterproof matches and a butane lighter, which could have been used to spark the fires, Nowels said.<\/p>\n
On Sunday, major crimes detectives were able to link the suspect to the fire \u201cand determined that the origin of the fire was indeed exactly where the witnesses had seen Mr. Farinacci kneeling in the grass,\u201d Nowels said.<\/p>\n
![\"People](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/260803-spokane-wildfire-mn-1601-242149.jpg\")
People watch the Old Trails Fire in Spokane on Saturday.Young Kwak \/ AP<\/p>\n
Farinacci was known to walk in the area before and had been questioned about \u201carson-related behavior\u201d in the past, though he was never arrested or convicted, Spokane County Prosecuting Attorney Preston McCollam said.<\/p>\n
Farinacci has a criminal record in Arizona, McCollam said, including a conviction for manslaughter. Public records indicate he was convicted of manslaughter in 2012 for a killing in Maricopa County in 2010. <\/p>\n
At 3,619 acres, the Old Trails Fire is the largest of three major blazes burning in the Spokane region<\/a>. <\/p>\n