The suspect, Spokane resident Aaron Farinacci, previously imprisoned for killing his father, made his initial appearance in county court after being jailed on a US$1 million bond on a count of first-degree arson, according to court records.
Farinacci is accused of starting the Old Trails Fire, one of three that erupted on Saturday to the north and west of Spokane, by using matches or a lighter to ignite a roadside patch of grass, Spokane County Sheriff John Nowels told reporters on Monday evening. The origins of the two other fires remained under investigation, he said.
The three blazes together are ranked as the top firefighting priority in the US as a whole.
Dozens of major fires have scorched Washington and Oregon for weeks, fouling the air with smoke and soot. Driven by gusting winds and tinder-dry conditions, the Spokane-area fires have blackened more than 10,000 acres on the northern fringe of the state’s second city, home to about 230,000 residents.
Online drone footage showed the Old Trails Fire swept out of a state park into wooded, suburban neighbourhoods, turning homes to ash, melting cars and leaving only blackened trees standing.
Authorities pleaded with people not to fly drones after dozens of such illegal flights grounded all firefighting aircraft on Monday.
“We’re still in a firefight here,” said Tom Stokesberry, spokesman for firefighting teams in the area. “This is just a dynamic situation with everything we’re facing, three separate fires in the urban interface.”
Cooler temperatures and lighter winds were expected to help firefighters on Tuesday, Stokesberry said, adding that the Old Trails and Fairview fires remained stable in size while the Autumn Lane fire continued to grow.
Temperatures were set to rise to around 32C starting midweek, making it harder to control the blazes which are not contained at all, state officials said in a report.
No fatalities had been reported from the Spokane fires, Stokesberry said.
Nowels said the arson suspect was first detained on Saturday after a witness reported seeing a nervous-looking man bending down near some grass at the spot where arson investigators later determined the Old Trails Fire began.
Farinacci was questioned and released that day, but taken into custody on Monday afternoon, once investigators had obtained further evidence, Nowels said.
In 2010, Farinacci shot dead his father in Mesa, Arizona, after an argument over washing dishes, police said. He subsequently shot himself but survived.
Farinacci pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to 12 years imprisonment. He was released from custody in 2020, according to court records. (Reuters)
