Cal Fire reported approximately the same number of arson fires for both years.An arson suspect in custody is believed to be responsible for starting the uncontrolled Palisades Fire in Southern California, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said Monday.
But in 2016, 15,000 acres burned, causing $106 million in damage. In 2014, fires attributed to arson burned 98,000 acres in Cal Fire’s jurisdiction, causing $125,000 in damage, the agency reported.
As fires become larger and more aggressive, these homes are fuel.”Īs reported by Cal Fire, the more acres that are burned doesn’t always result in a higher cost of damage. “More folks have been moving into the foothills and more homes are being built where there were none before. “These fires are in rural areas at the wildland-urban interface,” McLean said. As fires become more intense, the damage to private property has become more costly. McLean said the department has seen an increase in new homes built in rural, fire-prone parts of the state the agency is responsible for protecting. “We deal with arson, but in the remote regions managed by the department most fires are caused by lightning igniting brush.”Īrson incidents threaten higher costs for damage and pose greater security concerns at the wildland-urban interfaces of California’s more densely-populated regions.Ĭal Fire is the firefighting authority on more than 30 million acres of private and public land and provides emergency services in 36 counties.ĭeputy Chief Dan McLean said more data needs to be reported before Cal Fire can confirm the California Department of Justice’s claim that arson is on the rise. “Staining on a rock or boulder, ash buildup on one side and not the other – through training and experience investigators develop an eye for this,” Briot said. MORE: Cranston and Ribbon fires: What we know so far about fires burning in the Coachella Valley MORE: After Cranston Fire, Idyllwild's Jazz in the Pines fest will be more than a celebration of music The fire killed five firefighters and consumed more than 41,000 acres west of Palm Springs, ultimately leading to Oyler being sentenced to death in 2009. Rod Pacheco was Riverside County’s district attorney when the Esperanza Fire was started by Raymond Lee Oyler in 2006. Because many human-caused fires are accidentally set by campfires, cigarettes, or malfunctioning vehicles, prosecutions require clear evidence of an arsonist’s intent to harm and destroy. MORE: Video: Cranston Fire defense lawyer gives statementĪccording to the California Department of Fire and Forestry, or Cal Fire, arson caused $106 million in damage in 2016, the most recent data available - more than five times what it had cost the year before.Īccording to law, arson is the malicious and intentional setting of structures, property, or wildland on fire. MORE: Highways closed by Cranston Fire reopen Desert Hot Springs man accused of starting unrelated brush fire McGlover pleads not guilty to 15 counts of arson DA alleges he set nine separate fires MORE: Holy Fire arson suspect Forrest Clark, 51, arrested as fire surpasses 4,000 acres in Cleveland National Forest While arson rates have been plummeting in the state since the department started reporting them in 1985, last year’s increase was the largest increase in arson incidents in decades. There were 8,650 arson incidents in California in 2017, up from a state historic low of 7,164 in 2011, according to the California Department of Justice. With state agencies reporting a 20 percent increase in the number of arson cases over the past six years, and skyrocketing costs of arson damage, malicious firesetting is another looming threat in a state burdened by fire’s cost to property and safety. Today, an Irvine man was arrested on suspicion of two counts of arson, one count of threat to terrorize in connection to the Holy Fire, a wildfire burning in Orange County that has consumed more than 4,000 acres and is only five percent contained. 3, a Desert Hot Springs man was arrested after admitting to starting a small and quickly extinguished brush fire in Desert Hot Springs. Two of the arson incidents resulted in wildland fires burning more than 17,000 acres and growing.įirst, the Cranston Fire smoldering near Idyllwild, which is suspected to be one of nine fires set by a Temecula man on July 25, adds more than 13,000 burned acres to the growing account of damage caused by alleged arson in California.
Two suspected arsonists have been arrested in Riverside County and one in Orange County for fires in Southern California's fire-prone wildlands. Three arson suspects have been arrested in two weeks in Southern California. Watch Video: Aircraft view shows Holy Fire smoke engulfing Santa Ana Mountains
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