West Coast Fire Thread

[temporal1]

P.32:

Spokane Old Trails Fire, the most damaging fire in Washington State history that destroyed over 700 structures, appears to have been arson, carried out by a convicted criminal.

It is notable that the fire took off so fast, and couldn't be stopped, even though it was reported 10 minutes later.

https://www.king5.com/article/news/loca ... 967a787cce

USA TODAY / “Arson arrest as Spokane wildfires force evacuations, destroy homes: Updates”
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nat ... 159871007/

Aaron F. Farinacci, a 37-year-old Spokane resident,
was arrested on a single charge of first-degree arson related to the Old Trails Fire, which sprang up on Saturday alongside two other major fires, Spokane County Sheriff John Nowels said at a news conference on Monday evening. The causes of the other fires are under investigation.

How much have the Spokane fires burned?
Jeanine Santucci
The Spokane Complex includes three main wildfires burning in the region. They are the Old Trails Fire, the Autumn Lane Fire and the Fairview Fire.

The total acres burned as of the latest update were 10,280, with 0% containment.

Old Trails Fire:3,621 acres burned
Autumn Lane Fire:5,603 acres burned
Fairview Fire:1,056 acres burned

Authorities said on Monday that there are 17 fires burning across Washington state, covering 262,000 acres.

"This is going to shape up to be a historic fire season in Washington state and the Pacific Northwest," Commissioner of Public Lands Dave Upthegrove said.

Man arrested for arson in Spokane-area fire
Jeanine Santucci
Nowels said a "very good citizen" alerted authorities that he saw a man standing on the side of the road as he was going to pick somebody up, then about 10 minutes later, saw the same man bending down over some grass and looking "nervous," then walking away, in the same area where it was determined one of the wildfires, the Old Trails Fire, began on Saturday.

Farinacci was detained and found to have matches and a lighter on him, and was questioned and released that day, Nowels said. After further investigation, he was arrested and charged on Monday, the sheriff said. Nowels said the origin of the fire was determined to be exactly where the witness saw Farinacci kneeling, and fire investigators determined it was consistent with having been started by a match or lighter igniting grass.

"It was citizens who were paying attention to their surroundings, being aware and willing to step up and say something that led to the relatively quick apprehension of Mr. Farinacci," Nowels said.

"He made statements when he was detained about, 'we didn't know the whole story,' or something to that effect," Nowels said.

Farinacci has a prior conviction for manslaughter in Arizona, Nowels said.
It was not immediately clear if Farinacci had an attorney who could comment on his behalf. USA TODAY has reached out to the Spokane County Public Defender's Office.

Presumably, defense attorneys are chomping at the bit to defend+protect Mr Aaron FF, with the ultimate legal prize of enabling Aaron FF to sue the State of Washington for any and every conceivable legal misstep.

i wonder if he set all 3 fires?
i presume they’re investigating it.

matches and a lighter.

https://www.azfamily.com/2026/08/04/man ... -wildfire/

[R7ehr]

The Old Trails Fire, which this guy started, is the ine that is burning uo almost all of the homes. Very few homes are getting burned in the other two Spokane fires.

I think it is wise for people to evacuate these suburban homes in this situation. Where homes are built 20 feet apart. Not a lot you can do in that situation by staying.

This guy is on a the edge of town among 5-10 acre wooded properties, and he did take defensive measures, and his house wasn’t burned.

One man who saved his home by digging a fire line said he felt "survivor's guilt" after his neighbour lost theirs.
"We're going to open our home to our neighbours," Joe Cvancara said. "I know it's going to take a long time to rebuild."

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5y3ppmmev1o

I see that right now there is a place near the Spokane fires the has an air quality index score of 792 from the Autumn Lane Fire. Thats about as high as I’ve seen reported.
Ours is currently showing 183, which is very smoky.
The wind has shifted, and we are fetting smoked out, along with western Oregon today.

[R7ehr]

A 37-year-old Spokane man is facing formal arson charges after allegedly confessing to starting dozens of wildfires across Spokane County over a year-long period, culminating in a massive 3,200-acre blaze that has destroyed hundreds of structures so far.

…

As of Thursday, the fire, along with two others in the area, has destroyed more than 900 structures and burned more than 10,000 acres combined, authorities said.

Investigative documents reveal that Farinacci's alleged actions were deliberate and heavily calculated. Authorities say Farinacci monitored weather conditions through a wildfire tracking app and intentionally selecting days with severe weather warnings, court documents show.

On Aug. 1, knowing that Spokane County was under a Red Flag Warning and a Particularly Dangerous Situation advisory, he anticipated wind gusts up to 50 miles per hour before setting out to ignite the brush near active railroad tracks, according to authorities.

Investigators noted that Farinacci brought time-delay ignition components with him and timed the fire to maximize spread, remarking to detectives that conditions were ideal to start the blaze and "let the fire take its course."

The location was chosen to maximize damage, according to the report.

"He decided to light the fire at this location because he knew it 'was gonna get bad.' By 'bad' he meant it would be a large fire, but claimed he did not intend for it to get as large as it did," according to the report.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/us/articles/ ... 00723.html

He was not investigated properly for an earlier fire that he started. And was convicted of manslaughter in Arizona for killing his father. Spent 10 years in prison.

[R7ehr]

'It's encouraging arson;' Oregon Senators call for crackdown on wildfire bets
https://www.centraloregondaily.com/news ... a59a3.html
Nowadays, you can gamble on a lot more than just the outcome of sports.

Thanks to the popularization of online prediction markets, bets are available on anything; including political election outcomes to whether or not it will rain tomorrow. In certain cases, there are even bets tied to wildfires.

Good old Chesterton’s Fence. Society seems to have forgotten why gambling and betting were outlawed. Society must think it was merely fuddy duddy religious people being cranks, never stopping to understand that religion is actually a good thing for society, and is in service of societal good by some measures, and that tradition is the answer to a problem that has been forgotten.

[temporal1]

Soon my daughter+grdaughter will drive from near Seattle to Helena Montana for college.
i’m worried about fires/smoke.

Any suggestions? Esp how to avoid driving into problems?

[R7ehr]

Soon my daughter+grdaughter will drive from near Seattle to Helena Montana for college.
i’m worried about fires/smoke.

Any suggestions? Esp how to avoid driving into problems?

Keep both hands on the wheel, wear seat belts, don’t text and drive, don’t speed, pay attention.

Check for fires near the route the day before leaving. Things can change on fairly short notice with new fires starting and wind moving existing fires and smoke. Recirculate air in car cabin.

[temporal1]

Soon my daughter+grdaughter will drive from near Seattle to Helena Montana for college.
i’m worried about fires/smoke.

Any suggestions? Esp how to avoid driving into problems?

Keep both hands on the wheel, wear seat belts, don’t text and drive, don’t speed, pay attention.

Check for fires near the route the day before leaving. Things can change on fairly short notice with new fires starting and wind moving existing fires and smoke. Recirculate air in car cabin.

ok. i’ll add, keep plenty of drinking water. always a good idea.
it’s about 8 hours driving. they’ll overnight once. not a hard trip. but the fires/smoke are worrisome.

would checking with the state police be a good idea?
i was trying to find something on their website. so far, nothing.

Maybe this:
DOT / Dept of Transportation
https://wsdot.com/travel/real-time/

^^i use it for winter driving conditions. Maybe they track for fires/smoke?
i’ll look at it.

.. i found a map with fires noted. not anymore helpful than other maps. i’ll keep searching.
there’s gotta be a way.

there are fires everywhere. not good.

[ohio jones]

.. i found a map with fires noted. not anymore helpful than other maps. i’ll keep searching.
there’s gotta be a way.

there are fires everywhere. not good.

Then there's the time I was given a warning for inordinate velocity. The officer asked "Where's the fire?" but I had no map app to provide that information.

[temporal1]

.. i found a map with fires noted. not anymore helpful than other maps. i’ll keep searching.
there’s gotta be a way.

there are fires everywhere. not good.

Then there's the time I was given a warning for inordinate velocity. The officer asked "Where's the fire?" but I had no map app to provide that information.

maybe you could drive? they could fly.
not that you’re more expendable. maybe at this moment ..

i offered. turned down.

there’s a great Alaska Airlines flight SEA-HLN

[temporal1]

AIRNOW interactive map

https://gispub.epa.gov/airnow/?monitors ... .826496027