This browser does not support the Video element.
Alleged arsonists start at least 17 fires in Santa Rosa
Since late June, Santa Rosa authorities have tracked 30 fires, with at least 17 of them being investigated as arsons. Police arrested five people suspected of starting small fires.
SANTA ROSA, Calif. - Community members in the North Bay, already traumatized by four major wildfires over the last decade, are upset to learn about a new series of fires that were set intentionally.
Santa Rosa authorities say they're cracking down on arson, arresting five people for starting small fires and more arrests could be coming.
What we know:
Officials in Santa Rosa believe more than half of the string of 30 fires in the last four weeks were set intentionally.
"When we started seeing the uptick of activity in these certain areas, it prompted a different type of response," said Santa Rosa Fire Department Division Chief Paul Lowenthal.
The suspects
Five suspects were arrested for allegedly starting five separate fires. Here are the names and the locations of the fires they are believed to have started:
- Adan Alvarez-Flores (West 8th Street and Simpson Avenue)
- Wuilton De Leon Reyes (700 block of A Street)
- Corey Bynum (700 block of 7th Street)
- Jason Cass (2100 block of West College Avenue)
- Jessica Lucas (9th Street and Morgan Street)
Timeline:
One of the fires took place along College Creek Trail just behind the fire department's training facility.
Another fire under a Highway 101 overpass at the corner of 9th and Morgan streets was witnessed by a patrolling police officer.
"We knew that we were experiencing fires in these same locations, so it was not uncommon to see our investigators or police officers actively patrolling these specific areas," Lowenthal said.
In at least four of the incidents, witnesses called police or the suspect was caught on surveillance video. But there are still 12 more suspicious fires they don't have answers for.
"That leaves several other fires that are still technically unsolved at this point in time," Lowenthal said.
That includes a recently contained blaze on Fresno Avenue. And a fire along Joe Rodota Trail last weekend.
"This is a community that’s clearly been through a lot. Not a lot of cities in California that have been impacted by four major wildfires in a short period of time: The Tubbs, The Nuns, The Glass, The Kincade. That has clearly changed not only how we respond to fires, but also how our community responds to fires," Lowenthal said.
What they're saying:
Jackie Ganiy, of Santa Rosa, lost her home in the Tubbs Fire.
"It was terrible, we lost everything. That’s why we’re living here close to downtown, because I wasn’t going to live there again," she said.
But her dense neighborhood in the downtown area was also hit with the suspect caught burning someone's property.
"The fact that it was just right over there makes me nervous. That makes me really nervous," said Ganiy.
Some fires were just a few square feet, others were up to three quarters of an acre. All pose extreme risk in these especially dry days as the North Bay deals with hot and dry conditions.
"Our investigators are still trying to determine whether any or all of those five people might be responsible for more than just the single act of arson that they were arrested for," said Sgt. Patricia Seffens with the Santa Rosa Police Department.
The Sonoma County District Attorney's Office tells me it will not file charges on one of the five suspects due to insufficient evidence.
For the other four, it's still working on the charges.
Investigations into these fires are ongoing. Anyone who sees anything suspicious is asked to call 9-1-1.