The suspect charged on Aug. 3 with starting the Old Trails fire in Spokane, Washington, that forced more than 60,000 people to evacuate told police he had planned the attack for weeks.
The suspect, Aaron Farinacci, told police in an interview that “fire is powerful, beautiful, and that things that go through fire experience a kind of rebirth,” according to Spokane County Detective Michael Drapeau in a court filing Wednesday.
Farinacci, 37, was scheduled to be arraigned on Thursday, but is now being held on $2 million bond while Spokane Superior Court Judge Jeremy Schmidt reviews his lawyer’s request for a competency evaluation.
Farinacci was booked into the Spokane County Jail.
According to a press conference by Spokane County Sheriff John Nowels, Farinacci was arrested after a concerned citizen provided a description of Farinacci near the area where the fire started, moments before smoke was seen.
According to an arrest affidavit, Farinacci initially denied setting the fire when questioned by law enforcement.
The arrest warrant was executed around 5 p.m. on Aug. 4, and the suspect was detained about a mile from where the fire started.
Farinacci was in possession of matches and a lighter at the time he was arrested, which is believed to be how the fire was started.
As Savannah Hulsey Pointer reports for The Epoch Times, the Old Trails fire, which has burned at lea
