A wildfire in Spokane, Washington, destroyed 65,000 acres and 700 homes.
Posted by The Gerry Callahan Show, Checked
- Sources
- 6 contradict1 support2 context
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 60%
The Gerry Callahan ShowAug 4, 2026
The Spokane-area fires did destroy roughly 650 to 700 homes or structures, but the claimed 65,000 acres is grossly overstated: the record shows about 10,000 acres for the three Spokane fires, and 65,000 is the number of people evacuated. Note that the claim also reduces the three-fire Spokane Complex to 'a wildfire'.
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What was said
… Everything's climate change. And then, shortly after that, they arrested an arsonist, a guy named Aaron Farinucci. He has he's a guy who he's 37, I believe, and he murdered his own father. That was part of the story. I saw the headline: A man who had spent time in prison for murdering his father set the fires, which have destroyed 65,000 acres and 700 homes. Again, the face of climate change: a convicted killer. So I had to look. I had to say, how the hell do you kill your father and you're free when you're 37? He did ten years. Ten years for killing his dad, and he got out in time to set a wildfire. …
The Gerry Callahan Show · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Contradicts. The governor's federal disaster request puts the Spokane-area fires at 'more than 9,900 acres', and Reuters puts them at about 10,000 acres, far below the claimed 65,000.[1][2]
Contradicts. Multiple outlets report that about 65,000 people were evacuated, which appears to be the figure the 65,000 'acres' claim conflates with the acreage.[3][4][5][6]
Supports. Early reports say about 700 structures were destroyed, and the state's later preliminary assessment found 649 primary residences destroyed, 615 of them in Spokane County, so the 700-home figure is roughly consistent with the record.[2][3][6][7]
Context. Sources describe the Spokane fires as three linked blazes (the Spokane Complex), and the cause was under investigation, with a man later charged with arson in one of them.[8][9]
Sources
9 sources: 1 fact-checker, 1 primary, 3 tier 2, 4 not rated
- 1Drone footage captures Spokane wildfire devastationreuters.com · fact-checker · cited for: contradicts
- 2Governor Ferguson requests federal Major Disaster Declaration ...governor.wa.gov · primary source · cited for: contradicts, supports
- 3Washington wildfires destroy homes, force thousands to evacuatenpr.org · tier 2 · cited for: contradicts, supports
- 4Washington wildfires; Spokane County homes destroyed in ...cnn.com · tier 2 · cited for: contradicts
- 5Spokane, WA Fires - Update 8/10 - ALERTalert.risksolutions.verisk.com · not rated · cited for: contradicts
- 6Washington wildfires: nearly 65,000 evacuated; air quality 'unhealthy'upi.com · not rated · cited for: contradicts, supports
- 7Spokane wildfires force 60000 to flee in Washingtondetroitnews.com · not rated · cited for: supports
- 8Washington's wildfires are a warning for the entire U.S.scientificamerican.com · tier 2 · cited for: context
- 9Man charged with arson in 1 of 3 wildfires torching ...edition.cnn.com · not rated · cited for: context
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post