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Man accused of arson in the biggest of 3 major fires in Spokane, Washington

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Cite

Romero, D. (2026, August 4). Man accused of arson in the biggest of 3 major fires in Spokane, Washington. NBC News. https://www.nbcnews.com/weather/wildfires/man-accused-arson-spokane-washington-fires-rcna590686

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

NBC News · collected 2026-08-04 · by Dennis Romero

Quick Summary

Aaron Farinacci, a 37-year-old Spokane resident with a previous manslaughter conviction, was arrested on Monday for allegedly starting the largest of three major wildfires in the region through first-degree arson. The Old Trails Fire, which started around 10 a.m. Saturday, has destroyed hundreds of structures and displaced thousands of people, with an estimated 700 structures lost and 67,000 evacuees. A witness reported seeing Farinacci near the fire's origin shortly before it started, and police later found waterproof matches and a butane lighter on him. Farinacci is being held on $1 million bond and is scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday.
Written by AI on 2026-08-21, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Here's a summary of the news story:

A devastating wildfire broke out in Spokane, Washington, forcing 65,000 people to evacuate their homes. The fire, known as the Old Trails Fire, was one of three blazes that burned across the region, destroying 700 buildings and leaving hundreds without homes. A 37-year-old man named Aaron Farinacci was arrested on suspicion of arson in connection with the Old Trails Fire. He was seen kneeling near grass where the fire started, and was found to be in possession of matches and a lighter. Farinacci has a prior conviction for manslaughter and is being held on a $1 million bond. The fires were fueled by strong winds and dry vegetation, making them particularly destructive. Authorities say it will take time to assess the full extent of the damage as search teams begin entering the hardest-hit areas.

Written for “Washington State Wildfires” on 2026-10-31, grounded in this article and the 11 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Washington State Wildfires
Environment · 12 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 12% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
CBS News
Hedges 6 of 34 claims Outlet record 66/100
Fox News
Hedges 6 of 18 claims Outlet record 69/100
CBC News
Hedges 8 of 114 claims Outlet record 60/100
BBC News
Hedges 5 of 34 claims Outlet record 68/100
Al Jazeera
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 3 of 17 claims Outlet record 60/100
BBC News
Hedges 0 of 3 claims Outlet record 68/100
Al Jazeera
Hedges 7 of 52 claims Outlet record 60/100
“Article B describes a man being accused of arson in one of the three major fires, while Article A reports on the wildfires themselves and does not mention an arrest”
CBC News
Hedges 4 of 25 claims Outlet record 60/100
“Article B reports on a general update of the wildfires, including an interview with an evacuee, while Article A describes the arrest of a suspect in one of the fires”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
17
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
12%
2 of 17 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
60/100
NBC News's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
12
Environment
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-08-04 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

NBC News · 1939 article(s) · 1 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 1 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Dennis Romero
23 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 “We may think that it is a joke, but it’s not a joke when it comes to the lives that have come before us,” he said.
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🔮 The St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office in Missouri charged Willie Herndon, 42, with first-degree murder and armed criminal action in connection with last week’s attack, which killed Alyssa Wilson, authorities said Monday.
🔮 When all is said and done, he said, the heist could be one of the biggest in trading card history.
🔮 Zhang also traveled to China in August 2025 to meet with a Chinese government official, returned days later and told the official she would most likely be going to where the victim was the following week, according to the indictment.
🔮 Wichita Mayor Lily Wu said on her personal Facebook page that the incident left her filled with sorrow. “I’m heartbroken by reports of a tragic incident at Stryker Sports Complex,” she said.
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🔮 Miller faces the possibility of 46 years or more in prison, though it’s not clear if the judge intends to allow sentences for each charge to be served concurrently, which could reduce that time.
🔮 The mayor of Baltimore, Brandon M. Scott, expressed disgust at the situation and likened the gunmen to cowards, during the evening news conference.
🔮 “The exact time of the collapse is unknown and could have occurred when the park was temporarily closed during Tropical Storm Nolo,” the park service said in a statement.
Also by Dennis Romero
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 23 articles by Dennis Romero →

Topics

Arizona SWAT Spokane Spokane County Washington

Subjects

Farinacci PERSON · 6× Nowels PERSON · 6× Spokane GPE · 3× Spokane County GPE · 3× McCollam PERSON · 2× Aaron Farinacci PERSON · 1× John Nowels PERSON · 1× Preston McCollam PERSON · 1× SWAT ORG · 1× Washington GPE · 1×

Narrative

A 37-year-old Spokane, Washington, resident with a previous manslaughter conviction was arrested Monday in connection with the largest of the region’s three wildfires, which have displaced thousands of people and destroyed hundreds of structures, authorities said.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-08-04
🔮 He had waterproof matches and a butane lighter, which could have been used to spark the fires, Nowels said.

Claims (17 extracted, 2 hedged)

A 37-year-old Spokane, Washington, resident with a previous manslaughter conviction was arrested Monday in connection with the largest of the region’s three wildfires, which have displaced thousands of people and destroyed hundreds of structures, authorities said. asserted
authorities → arrest → structures
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. asserted
Nowels → take → conference
Farinacci was being held on $1 million bond, he said. asserted
he → hold → bond
It was unclear whether he has been formally charged or has a lawyer, and the Spokane County public defender’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday night. uncertain
office → charge → comment
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. asserted
Nowels → arrest → 10
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 “stood up and looked very nervous” and walked away, Nowels said. asserted
Nowels → tell → grass
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. asserted
Nowels → detain → him
He had waterproof matches and a butane lighter, which could have been used to spark the fires, Nowels said. uncertain
Nowels → have → fires
On Sunday, major crimes detectives were able to link the suspect to the fire “and determined that the origin of the fire was indeed exactly where the witnesses had seen Mr. Farinacci kneeling in the grass,” Nowels said. asserted
Nowels → link → grass
Farinacci was known to walk in the area before and had been questioned about “arson-related behavior” in the past, though he was never arrested or convicted for that, Spokane County Prosecuting Attorney Preston McCollam said. asserted
McCollam → know → that
Farinacci has a criminal record in Arizona, McCollam said, including a conviction for manslaughter. asserted
McCollam → have → manslaughter
Public records indicate he was convicted of manslaughter in 2012 for a killing in Maricopa County in 2010. asserted
he → indicate → 2010
At 3,619 acres, the Old Trails Fire is the largest of three major blazes burning in the Spokane region. asserted
Fire → burn → region
The fires have taken out an estimated 700 structures and caused the evacuations of 67,000 people in the Spokane area, federal incident commander Tom Clemo said Monday. asserted
Clemo → take → area
They have collectively burned through more than 8,000 acres and were 0% contained Monday night. asserted
They → burn → acres
Nowels said there is no evidence connecting Farinacci to the other two major blazes in the region. asserted
Nowels → say → region
He is scheduled to appear in court Tuesday, McCollam said. asserted
McCollam → schedule → court
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