Authorities arrest arson suspect in connection with one of the
devastating Spokane wildfires
[August 04, 2026]
By LINDSEY WASSON, ED WHITE and GENE JOHNSON
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Authorities on Monday arrested a 37-year-old man
they suspect of starting one of the devastating wildfires tearing
through eastern Washington state as many residents were left wondering
if their homes had survived.
The Spokane County Sheriff’s Office said 37-year-old Aaron F. Farinacci
was arrested and booked on suspicion of arson in connection with the Old
Trails Fire. He is being held on $1 million bond. It wasn't immediately
clear if he had an attorney who could speak on his behalf.
The fire that sparked Saturday is one of several burning around Spokane,
the state's second-largest city. They are among the most destructive
blazes in state history, together destroying at least 700 structures and
forcing roughly 67,000 people to evacuate.
Earlier Monday, some residents returned to find their homes leveled by
wildfires that erupted across a parched landscape over the weekend,
covering yards in charred debris. In some cases, only chimneys were left
standing.
“There’s nothing to save,” Miriam Sim, 76, said Monday as she and her
husband, Daniel Sim, surveyed the ruins of the home where they had lived
since 2005.
“At our age, do we want to rebuild?” her husband asked.
The fires jumped roads and rivers and had burned about 12.5 square miles
(about 32 square kilometers) by Monday. The sky filled with smoke and
haze. Calmer winds and lower temperatures arrived to help firefighters,
but it was expected to be hot and dry again by midweek.
In one Spokane neighborhood, blackened vehicles, a boat twisted by the
heat and melted plastic recycling bins remained. Across the street,
lawns were still green and houses were spared, as residents continued to
run hoses or sprinklers to water their properties.
“Hundreds of people have completely lost their homes and farms, and many
are prohibited from returning to their homes or neighborhoods as crews
continue to extinguish smoldering embers,” the state's entire
congressional delegation wrote Monday in asking President Donald Trump
to approve an expedited emergency declaration.
No deaths or major injuries have been reported so far
Cpl. Mark Gregory, a spokesperson for the Spokane County Sheriff’s
Office, said the county initially received nearly 300 reports of missing
people, but by Monday they had cleared all but 14.
Those outstanding reports more likely represented people who had not
been in contact since evacuating than people who were truly missing or
in danger, authorities said.
The Spokane-area wildfires were completely uncontained, fire officials
said. More than 1,000 firefighters, many from out of state, had arrived
by Monday, and that number was expected to double in the next few days.
The fires were among dozens across the Western U.S. stretching the
ability of federal, state and local agencies to fight them. At least 390
square miles (1,000 square kilometers) has burned across Washington,
which has contended with severe drought and a paltry snowpack.
Authorities warned people not to fly drones near the burned areas,
saying it could force them to delay aerial firefighting operations.
Homes, cars and possessions have been lost in flames
Angela and Wayde Deatherage, both 49, evacuated shortly after 3 p.m.
Saturday with a son, grabbing a few bins of family photos and heirloom
rings but not much else. Roughly 30 minutes later, their security camera
was sending fire notifications to Angela’s phone.
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Daniel Sim, 76, views the remains of his destroyed house after a
wildfire hit the northern part of Spokane, Wash., Monday, Aug. 3,
2026. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Wayde Deatherage took some back roads and returned by early evening.
He stopped at the end of the street and called his wife: “Our house
is done.”
Deatherage, however, wasn't done with his neighborhood. He propped a
hose at another house so it sprayed the property. That home
survived.
The couple returned to their property Sunday.
“It’s just ash,” Angela Deatherage said of the home where they had
lived for nearly 22 years. ”It’s like our house sunk down in the
basement. ... There’s just so much loss for so many people.”
Karen Faggioli, 61, figured she would be returning to her home. She
recalled how other recent fires had been brought under control. But
a relative texted her the bad news: Her house and three vehicles
were destroyed. A daughter lost her nearby house, too.
“Why cry? What’s crying going to do? I’ve been through so many
tragedies myself,” said Faggioli, who is recovering from breast
cancer. “This is nothing. Like I told my granddaughter, ‘We’re
strong — and now we get all new things.’ I’m emotionally numb.”
Friends and relatives of fire victims posted online appeals for
money, clothes and basic necessities.
Grassland burns in Idaho, Oregon and Utah
Spokane was hardly the only place struggling to contain fires.
A lightning-caused fire that has burned over 530 square miles (about
1,370 square kilometers) of grassland in western Idaho and eastern
Oregon continued to grow Monday. The area is home to cattle ranches,
and authorities said the fire is threatening more than 600 homes and
800 other structures.
In central Utah, a blaze quadrupled in size over the weekend to
nearly 109 square miles (282 square kilometers) by Monday afternoon.
More than 100 cattle have been killed, according to law enforcement.
Heavy winds helped flames jump containment lines, but forward
progression was slowed toward Fillmore, a town of about 2,600 people
and the seat of Millard County, officials said. Mandatory
evacuations were ordered Sunday evening for the town's southern
portion, and inmates at the county jail were transferred.
Spokane sets up shelter for impacted residents
In Spokane, about 400 people were staying at city's main convention
center, which was turned into a shelter, officials said.
Spokane Public Schools opened a free emergency drop-in camp for
children on Monday. Trials at the county court were pushed to Aug.
10.
Several larger fires continued to burn in less populated areas
northwest of Spokane.
___
Johnson reported from Seattle, and White from Detroit. Associated
Press writers Manuel Valdes in Spokane; John Hanna in Topeka,
Kansas; Kathy McCormack in Concord, N.H.; and Martha Bellisle in
Seattle contributed.
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