"Causes of Calif. fires sought; 1 charged" by Julie Watson and Elliot Spagat | Associated Press May 17, 2014
SAN DIEGO — A 57-year-old man was charged with arson Friday in one of at least 10 wildfires that erupted in Southern California this week, and investigators were working to determine whether other blazes in the unusually early and intense outbreak were ignited by something as ordinary as sparks from cars or something more sinister.
State fire officials said the first blaze that erupted between Tuesday and Thursday was caused by a spark from malfunctioning construction equipment. But it could take months to get to the bottom of the most damaging fires.
Alberto Serrato pleaded not guilty to arson in connection with one of the smaller fires — a 105-acre fire in suburban Oceanside that started Wednesday and is fully contained. Bail was set at $250,000.
Tanya Sierra, a spokeswoman for the San Diego district attorney’s office, said witnesses saw Serrato adding dead brush onto smoldering bushes, which flamed up. He has not been connected to any other fire, Sierra said.
Oceanside police Lieutenant Sean Marshand said Serrato is believed to have added fuel to the fire but not to have started it.
‘‘Unfortunately we don’t have the guy that we really want,’’ he said.
But they have to scapegoat someone, they always do!
Serrato was booked into jail Wednesday, according to the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department website, but his arrest was not announced until Friday. Sierra did not know if he had a lawyer.
All together, the wildfires have raced through an estimated 20,000 acres about 30 miles north of San Diego, causing more than $20 million in damage.
One burned body was found in an encampment of homeless people. At least eight houses and an 18-unit condominium complex were destroyed, and tens of thousands of people were warned to leave their homes.
No big deal.
Eight of the blazes popped up between late morning and sundown on Wednesday, raising suspicions that some had been set.
The region has become a tinderbox in recent days because of conditions not normally seen until late summer — extremely dry weather, 50-mile-per-hour Santa Ana winds, and temperatures in the 90s. On Friday, though, cooler weather aided the 2,600 firefighters, and thousands of people began returning home.
In one of the hardest-hit cities, Carlsbad, investigators finished examining the burn site across the street from a park and focused on interviewing people who called a hotline that was set up to report any suspicious activity.
‘‘Do people have suspicions? Yes,’’ said police Captain Neil Gallucci, noting there has been no lightning that could explain the blazes. ‘‘But can we confirm them? The answer is no.’’
Police in the city of Escondido arrested two people, ages 17 and 19, for investigation of arson in connection with two small fires that were extinguished within minutes. But they found no evidence linking the suspects to the 10 bigger wildfires.
In San Marcos, a college campus shut down and canceled graduation ceremonies because of the fires; in Carlsbad, the Legoland amusement park was closed.
A dozen wildfires popping up in a single day is not unheard-of in the drought-stricken state, but it’s a phenomenon usually seen during the dog days of summer.
‘‘What makes the San Diego area fires so unique is that we had tinder-dry conditions and Santa Ana winds in the month of May, and that’s unprecedented,’’ state fire spokesman Daniel Berlant said.
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Related:
"In the latest outbreak, the first blaze started Tuesday in the upscale San Diego suburb of Rancho Bernardo in a field among swaths of land cleared for new development. It burned through more than 1,500 acres before it was contained the following day. About an hour after authorities announced the situation was under control, a second blaze erupted at a naval weapons base. Then a tractor-trailer caught fire at a Border Patrol checkpoint. By day’s end, eight fires were roaring within a 15-mile radius."
