Tens of thousands of people had to leave their homes due to the fires.
Drought and extreme heat-fueled forest fires devastated the city in Washington state, burning thousands of hectares and turning hundreds of buildings to ashes as anxious families await news on when they can return.
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37-year-old suspect Aaron Farinacci was arrested for the fire called “Old Trails,” charged with first-degree arson, and jailed with a $1 million (866,930 euros) bail. A witness reportedly saw him kneeling by the grass where the fire started, Spokane County Sheriff John Nowels said at a late Monday press conference.
A. Farinacci was initially detained near the site where the fire broke out on Saturday but was later released and then re-arrested after officials linked him to the fire, J. Nowels said. He added that the suspect had a prior conviction for involuntary manslaughter.
“We believe it was matches or a lighter. When he was arrested (…), he was found with waterproof matches and a butane lighter,” the sheriff said, adding that the suspect is not believed to be connected to two other large fires in the area.
Officials said an aerial survey revealed that between 700 and 1,110 structures have been lost since the weekend when the fires started.
According to the federal interagency information system InciWeb, three fires in Spokane County burned 3,248 hectares, and firefighters, aided by cooler temperatures, higher humidity, and thick smoke, have made “significant progress” fighting two of them.
Local officials said no reports of casualties have been received so far.
Cooler weather is expected on Tuesday, although the respite should be brief, with temperatures rising again to around 35 degrees Celsius by midweek.
Sunday footage shows many homes burned to the ground, while others nearby remained almost untouched.
More frequent fires
Officials are trying to locate 14 people who have not been reached by mobile phones but are not yet considered missing, J. Nowels said.
“I think we had to evacuate up to 65,000 people from these areas, and if you think about what that means, the fact that we were able to get people out of those areas within a few hours of an active fire zone is pretty incredible,” the sheriff said.
Mayor Lisa Brown said officials are combing the city block by block, assessing damage and potential re-ignition, and cannot yet tell people when they can return home.
“It could take weeks, depending on where your home and property are,” she said.
“I think historically this is probably the worst natural disaster in Spokane’s history,” added Washington Governor Bob Ferguson.
He declared a state of emergency on August 1, citing drought and high temperatures increasing the risk of forest fires.
Human-caused climate change is increasingly creating conditions for more frequent and intense forest fires, as heat rises, droughts lengthen, and a “thirsty” atmosphere promotes drying of organic materials.
The Spokane fires followed “one of the warmest winters in Eastern Washington,” which caused a severe snow drought, said University of California Los Angeles climatologist Daniel Swain.
“An unusual wildfire season”
Washington Department of Natural Resources Director David Upthegrove warned that the Spokane fires are among 16 large fires currently raging across Washington state, covering about 106,000 acres.
“This is an unusual wildfire season in the Pacific Northwest. This is not a normal season,” he said.
A power outage map released by local utility Avista showed that more than 3,700 customers were without electricity late Monday due to the fires.
On Saturday afternoon, the “Old Trails” fire crossed the Spokane River and moved into the city of Spokane.
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