America Is Burning: A Suspect Is Arrested for Allegedly Starting One of the Fires in Spokane, While Mass Evacuations Are Ordered Due to the Gann Fire (California)

America is on fire. In addition to the intense fires in Washington , new and devastating blazes are forcing thousands of people to evacuate their homes. On Monday, authorities in Spokane arrested a man on suspicion of starting the worst of the fires, while residents of New Hogan Lake, in Calaveras County, California, were ordered to evacuate as the flames approached.

In Spokane, a 37-year-old suspect, Aaron Farinacci, was arrested in connection with the Old Trails fire, charged with first-degree arson, and was set on a $1 million bond after a witness reportedly saw him kneeling near the grass where the fire started, according to Spokane County Sheriff, John Nowels, at a press conference held late Monday.

Farinacci was initially arrested near the site where the fire started on Saturday, but was released, only to be arrested again after officers linked him to the fire, explained Nowels, who added that the suspect had a prior conviction for manslaughter.

"We believe it was matches or a lighter. When he was arrested... he was found in possession of waterproof matches and a butane lighter," the sheriff said, according to statements reported by AFP. Nowels added that the suspect is not believed to be connected to two other major fires that occurred in the area.

"Significant progress" in Spokane, where between 700 and 1,100 buildings have been destroyed

Aerial surveys revealed that between 700 and 1,110 buildings have been lost and tens of thousands of people have been forced to evacuate their homes since the fires broke out over the weekend, according to authorities.

According to InciWeb, a federal interagency information system, the three fires have collectively burned 8,026 acres (3,248 hectares) in the Spokane area, and firefighters have taken advantage of cooler temperatures, higher humidity, and thick smoke to make "significant progress" against two of them.

The director of the Washington Department of Natural Resources, David Upthegrove, stated that the Spokane fires were among the 16 major fires raging across the state of Washington, with a total affected area of 262,000 acres. "This is an extraordinary fire season," he said.

No injuries reported in the Spokane fires so far

Local authorities noted that, so far, no injuries had been reported.

Cooler temperatures were expected for Tuesday, though the respite was expected to be brief, as a warming trend was forecast to resume by midweek, pushing temperatures to between 90 and 95 degrees Fahrenheit (between 35 and 38 degrees Celsius).

Evacuation Order Issued in New Hogan Lakes Due to the Gann Fire

Meanwhile, in the Golden State, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) reported that fire crews are battling a powerful wildfire burning in the area of Hogan Dam and Gann Roads, in the southeastern part of the lake, which has prompted evacuations near New Hogan Lakes in Calaveras County.

Cal Fire noted that the fire, dubbed the "Gann Fire," has already burned more than 1,400 acres, with no significant progress reported toward containing it. In fact, the Calaveras Consolidated Fire Department reported that its crews responded to assist in extinguishing the fire.

So far, no injuries or damage to buildings have been reported, Cal Fire noted. However, Calaveras County authorities have ordered mandatory evacuations in several areas located east of New Hogan Lake.

These areas are CCU-109, 110, 130, and 147, which extend from the northeast of the lake to the west of the town of San Andreas, reaching east to the Calaveras County Airport and south to the Salt Spring Valley Reservoir.