At least one person has died in a wildfire burning in the foothills of California’s Sierra Nevada mountain range, a blaze officials believe was sparked by a man using a chainsaw. Police arrested Herbert Wayne Smith, 65, in connection with the Gann fire, which has destroyed seven buildings, scorched more than 15 square miles in Calaveras county, and killed a well-known dog breeder in the town of Angels Camp.
Arrest and Allegations
Smith was arrested on suspicion of recklessly causing the fire, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire). Officials allege he was operating equipment capable of producing sparks without clearing flammable vegetation as required. Prosecutors will determine whether to file criminal charges.
In an interview with KCRA, Smith said he did not mean to spark the fire. Monday was his birthday, and he had been using machinery to cut scraps to collect money for a celebratory meal with his wife. “I’m so sorry for everything that’s happened,” Smith told the news station. “This is going to destroy my life, one way or another.”
Previous Fire Incident
In 2018, Smith was charged with igniting another fire, KCRA reported. He was accused of “willfully and unlawfully [setting] fire to any forest, brush, or other flammable material which is on any land that is not his own, or under his legal control, without the permission of the owner, lessee, or agent of the owner or lessee of the land.” He pleaded no contest and received a sentence of 36 months’ probation.
Fire Progress and Victim
As of Friday morning, the Gann fire had burned more than 10,000 acres and was about 40% contained. Investigators will determine whether the fire contributed to the death of the person found in a burned home near Angels Camp, the Calaveras county sheriff’s office said. Friends identified the victim as Susan Solari, and a neighbor told CBS Sacramento that she refused to leave her dogs. “I told them she was there, that her dogs were there and she couldn’t get her dogs out,” Joan Wilson told the outlet. “She wasn’t going to leave them.”
Regional Fire Season
The Gann fire comes amid a grueling fire season in the American west. Three major fires have continued to burn around Spokane in north-eastern Washington, destroying at least 800 buildings. A 37-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly sparking one of those fires, and court documents accuse him of studying how to maximize the blaze’s destruction. No deaths have been reported in Washington, and officials reported on Thursday that cooler temperatures and calmer winds have allowed firefighters to make progress.
