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 least 700 buildings, is one of three that have been burning in the Spokane area that have consumed more than 10,500 acres in total. Two of the three fires are 13 percent contained, and the third is 5 percent contained.
Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson sent a letter to President Donald Trump the day before Farinacci’s scheduled arraignment, asking to speak on behalf of the people of his state and request emergency assistance.
“Your team has been nothing but helpful and quick to respond during this extremely challenging time,” Ferguson said.
Farinacci was previously convicted of manslaughter and aggravated assault in Arizona for shooting and killing his father.
According to court documents, he was sentenced to 12 years in prison in 2012 for his crime. Nowels said Farinacci also had a preceding arrest in the same case for premeditated murder.
Roughly 1,100 firefighters are battling the fires, which are still not contained. No injuries or fatalities have been reported so far, though authorities say there is a high probability that will change as teams reach previously inaccessible areas, as an unspecified number of people are reported as missing.
More than a dozen wildfires are blazing across the Western United States. In Washington state alone, at least 390 square miles have burned, as federal, state, and local agencies are stretched to their limits.
In Idaho, Oregon, and Utah, crews are using bulldozers, helicopters, and other resources to fight a fire that has burned almost 525 square miles. That area is home to cattle ranches, and authorities say the fire also threatens 600 homes and 800 other structures.
In central Utah, another blaze doubled in size over the weekend. By the morning of Aug. 3, more than 57 square miles were burned, killing more than 100 head of cattle.
Officials called the fire “catastrophic,” with heavy winds pushing the flames over containment lines.
The fire is moving north toward a town of around 2,600 people in Millard County, and mandatory evacuations were ordered on Sunday evening.
The National Weather Service has issued air quality warnings across the northwest, and red flag fire warnings were posted for parts of Utah, Montana, and western Nebraska. Extreme heat warnings were issued for the southern parts of Arizona, California, Nevada, and northern Montana.