Every factual claim below was checked against the original public record. Source: original document ↗
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Spokane County Sheriff John Nowels announced the arrest of Aaron Farinacci“A 37-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of first-degree arson for allegedly setting the Old Trails fire, Spokane County Sheriff John Nowels announced Monday night.”
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Aaron Farinacci is 37 years old“A 37-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of first-degree arson for allegedly setting the Old Trails fire, Spokane County Sheriff John Nowels announced Monday night.”
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Aaron Farinacci was arrested on suspicion of first-degree arson“A 37-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of first-degree arson for allegedly setting the Old Trails fire, Spokane County Sheriff John Nowels announced Monday night.”
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The Old Trails Fire destroyed approximately 700 homes“The Old Trails Fire that destroyed around 700 homes Saturday is presumed to be human-caused, according to Washington State Department of Natural Resources spokesperson Ryan Rodruck.”
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The Old Trails Fire occurred on Saturday“The Old Trails Fire that destroyed around 700 homes Saturday is presumed to be human-caused, according to Washington State Department of Natural Resources spokesperson Ryan Rodruck.”
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Aaron Farinacci was reported acting suspiciously near the fire location on Saturday“Nowels said the man, Aaron Farinacci, was reported “acting suspicious” and kneeling in the grass about 4 miles from the Old Trails fire on Saturday.”
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Aaron Farinacci was taken into custody on Monday afternoon“He was taken into custody around 5 p.m. Monday, Nowels said at a news conference Monday night.”
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Spokane County Sheriff John Nowels stated Farinacci has a prior felony manslaughter conviction in Arizona“Nowels said the suspect has a felony manslaughter conviction out of Arizona. According to the Phoenix News Times, the victim in Farinacci’s manslaughter case was his father. Farinacci killed him when his father asked his son to do dishes, the paper reported.”
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Farinacci is currently believed to be a Spokane resident“"as far as we can determine now, he is a Spokane resident," Nowels said, though he didn’t know for how long.”
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The Washington State Department of Natural Resources confirmed the fire is human-caused“The Old Trails Fire that destroyed around 700 homes Saturday is presumed to be human-caused, according to Washington State Department of Natural Resources spokesperson Ryan Rodruck.”
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The Washington State Department of Natural Resources ruled out natural causes“We have ruled out any natural cause,”
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Investigators are working to determine the cause of the fire“The Old Trails Fire that destroyed around 700 homes Saturday is presumed to be human-caused, according to Washington State Department of Natural Resources spokesperson Ryan Rodruck. The Department of Natural Resources is the lead investigator on the fire. "We are working with the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office and our fire district partners to investigate. We have ruled out any natural cause," Rodruck said via email Monday.”
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The Old Trails Fire is one of three major fires burning“The three major fires in the area – Old Trails in Northwest Spokane, Autumn Lane in the Suncrest area and Fairview in Mead – are burning over a combined 8,000 acres as of Monday morning, according to Inciweb.”
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The three major fires are burning over 8,000 acres combined“The three major fires in the area – Old Trails in Northwest Spokane, Autumn Lane in the Suncrest area and Fairview in Mead – are burning over a combined 8,000 acres as of Monday morning, according to Inciweb.”
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Officials reported 700 structures destroyed“More than 700 structures have been lost from weekend fires in Spokane County, and another 400 properties need to be further evaluated, officials said at a news conference Monday morning.”
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400 structures need further evaluation“More than 700 structures have been lost from weekend fires in Spokane County, and another 400 properties need to be further evaluated, officials said at a news conference Monday morning.”
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Spokane County Sheriff John Nowels clarified that 14 people are being contacted for confirmation“Deputies are trying to reach them, but Nowels stressed these are not missing people. “I do not want people to think that we have 14 missing people. These are people who may have called for help evacuating and many of them likely did get evacuated,” he said. “With poor cellphone coverage, cellphone batteries die, or they get to some place where they do find shelter, and we haven’t been able to reach them by phone.” “They are people we are just trying to confirm are fine,” Nowels added.”
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14 people are being contacted for confirmation“Deputies are trying to reach them, but Nowels stressed these are not missing people. “I do not want people to think that we have 14 missing people. These are people who may have called for help evacuating and many of them likely did get evacuated,” he said. “With poor cellphone coverage, cellphone batteries die, or they get to some place where they do find shelter, and we haven’t been able to reach them by phone.” “They are people we are just trying to confirm are fine,” Nowels added.”
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290 evacuation requests were received“The county received 290 reports of people asking for help evacuating loved ones or themselves.”
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Mayor Lisa Brown urged evacuees to remain patient“Brown asked evacuees for patience.”
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No timeline exists for returning to affected areas“Authorities have no timeline on when people can return to their homes or the charred remains. It could b”