State firefighting agency Cal Fire said Pashilk was suspected of setting “numerous fires” in Lake County over the past year.
Advertisement
“Earlier today Cal Fire investigators, along with Lake County Sheriffs detectives with the assistance of the Lake County District Attorney’s office were able to arrest Mr. Pashilk on 17 counts of arson”, said Lake County Sheriff Brian Martin.
Damin Pashilk, a resident of nearby Clearlake, was arrested and booked on multiple counts of arson in connection with the fire and other fires in the area during the previous year, the Lake County Sheriff’s Office said.
No word of a motive. It is now just 5 percent contained.
The U.S. Forest Service says the 12.6-square-mile blaze was 100 percent contained Tuesday.
Officials confirmed 10 homes burned, although witnesses said they could see more.
Tragically, the burned Habitat for Humanity office had been raising money to help rebuild homes destroyed by one of the state’s most destructive blazes almost a year ago.
While it’s unclear how the Clayton fire started, reports are the 40-year-old Pashilk has been under the watch of authorities for about a year.
As of late Monday, the Clayton Fire was burning through 4,000 acres (1,620 hectares), with 1,664 personnel fighting the blaze, Cal Fire said.
Pashilk has been arrested at least a dozen times, mostly for parole violations, but also on drug and weapons charges, according to KGO-TV.
Lower Lake seemed safe Sunday morning from flames that first rose the afternoon before.
Meanwhile, Gov. Jerry Brown has already declared a state of emergency in Lake County.
The sparsely populated region is under red flag warnings for high fire danger due to gusty winds and low humidity levels. Firemen couldn’t protect all of historic Main Street and flames burned a winery, an antiques store, old firehouse and the Habitat for Humanity office.The organization was raising money to help rebuild homes in nearby communities torched previous year.
The scene in Lower Lake was of devastation as homes, businesses and vehicles were torched by the blaze. Those fires charred thousands of acres, destroyed almost 1,300 homes and left four people dead. It burned 25,118 acres over two weeks, destroying six Lake County homes.
The fire reached Main Street in Lower Lake, a town of about 1,200, and burned the post office, a winery, a Habitat for Humanity office and several businesses and restaurants as black smoke loomed over the four-block strip.
Advertisement
The fire forced a freight train to make an emergency stop and has closed portions of Highway 138 and Interstate 15 – a major desert freeway and the main route to Las Vegas. It was 20 percent contained.
