Spokane arson suspect had planned devastating wildfire for weeks, police say

Your web browser is not fully supported by CBS News and CBSNews.com. For optimal experience and full features, please upgrade to a modern browser. You can get the new Microsoft Edge at microsoft.com/edge, available to download on all versions of Windows in more than 90 languages. '; document.getElementById('ieblock').setAttribute('style', 'background-color: #B60505; color: #F5F5F5; font-size: 20px; font-family: sans-serif; padding: 100px 100px'); } Latest U.S. Iran War ICE Detention World Politics HealthWatch MoneyWatch Entertainment Crime Sports The Free Press Watch CBS News August 6, 2026 / 6:42 PM EDT / CBS/AP Police said a man charged with starting a wildfire in Spokane , Washington, confessed to the crime, describing how he planned it for weeks and created a device to ignite a blaze that destroyed hundreds of buildings . Drapeau said Farinacci told him that "fire is powerful, beautiful, and that things that go through fire experience a kind of rebirth." Farinacci picked Aug.

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Scoop News DeskIran · Published Thursday, August 6, 2026 at 10:42 PM UTCUpdated Thursday, August 6, 2026 at 11:10 PM UTC

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He eventually chose a spot and "decided to light the fire at this location because he knew 'it was gonna get bad,'" Drapeau wrote. "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." Farinacci is charged with starting the Old Trails Fire, one of three fires in the Spokane area that have burned hundreds of homes and forced the evacuation of tens of thousands of people.