- this story is about the fires that happened in spokane and how it affected and changed people's lifes. its also about the man who started it all . the fire i talk about in my story is the old trails fire because I was evacuated as well for that .
One fire, thousands of lives
“I kept thinking, we can always go back for it. ‘ then I realized there might not be anything left to go back for”. I am one of the lucky ones because my family and I were safe and our homes were still there , however there were lots of families that were not so lucky. For most people a wildfire is something seen on a television screen - a column of smoke in the distance, firefighters moving through the trees, and homes surrounded by flames. For thousands of people around Spokane this August, it became something much more personal. It became the reason they grabbed their children , called relatives, loaded pets into cars and left home without knowing whether they would ever see it the same way again.
At the center of one of the region's most destructive fires is 37 year old Aaron Farinacci who has been charged with first degree arson in connection to the old trails fire. Prosecutors and investigators had both said that he intentionally started the blaze in Aug. Farinacci initially denied setting the fire but investigators later said he admitted responsibility during questioning. The consequences were more than the patch of consequences were more than the patch of grass where investigators say the fire began. The old trails fire became one of the 3 major fires burning around Spokane. Together the fires destroyed more than 850 buildings and forced tens of thousands of people from their homes. No deaths or serious injuries had been reported in the fires at the time of those reports. That number of tens of thousands is difficult to picture.
It represents parents trying to explain an evacuation to their children. It represents elderly residents wondering where they would sleep, it represents people leaving behind houses filled with photographs, furniture, clothing, and possessions collected over decades. It represents workers who could not get to their jobs, businesses disrupted by evacuations and families suddenly depending on friends, relatives and strangers. For some there was no home to return to. The fires affected so many families and turned their lives upside down. That is what makes the story of Spokane fires bigger than the man accused of starting one of them. Farinacci may be the focus of the criminal investigation but all the people he affected by the fires are the ones who have to live with what happened and he has to live with what he did to all these people.
The fire may have started with a single act but its consequences spread far beyond the place where investigators say the flames began. Investigators say Farinacci had been thinking about starting a fire before the old trails fire began. According to court documents investigators believe he watched the weather and waited for conditions that would make it easier for the fire to spread. Once the flames started everything changed for the people living nearby. Families had to leave their homes. Some had only minutes to grab what they could before getting out. Others had to make quick decisions about their children, pets, medications and the few things they could not imagine leaving behind. While firefighters worked to stop the fire, people were left waiting for updates and wondering what was happening to their homes. Investigators also questioned Farinacci about other fires in the Spokane area. Court documents say he admitted to setting additional fires which led to more charges. Farinacci has been charged but the allegations against him have not been decided in court. For the people affected by the fires though waiting for the legal process does not make what happened any easier. They still have to live with the memories for that day.
The fires brought out something different in Spokane. People who had never met each other began helping one another. Neighbors checked on each other. People offered places to stay. Others brought food, clothing, and other supplies to families who had been forced to leave. Those moments probably won't make the news as often as the flashes did but they are part of the story too. Because when something like this happens people remember more than the destruction. They remember who showed up, they remember who helped, and they remember the moment they realized just how quickly their lives could change.
The investigation into the fires will continue and the courts will eventually decide what happens in the Farinaccis case, but for the people who lived through the fires there is no waiting to begin moving forward. They are already doing it. Homes will be rebuilt. Routines will slowly return, but for the families who lost something whether it was a house, belongings, or simply their sense of security, that day will not be forgotten. For them the fire is no longer just something they watched happen, it is something they lived through.