On Monday, Cal Fire law enforcement officers arrested Damin Anthony Pashilk, 40, of Clearlake on 17 counts of arson for fires he started over the a year ago, according to Cal Fire.
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Officials arrested Damin Anthony Pashilk, 40, on 17 counts of arson.
LAKEPORT People forced to flee a massive wildfire in mountains north of San Francisco heaped anger Tuesday on a man who authorities believe set the blaze that wiped out several blocks of a small town over the weekend along with 16 smaller fires dating back to last summer.
“I’m overwhelmed. There’s some PTSD going on – all of this all over again”, said Melinda Gill, 37, who has been evacuated three times in the past year because of the Lake County fires. “Mr. Pashilk committed a horrific crime, and we will seek prosecution to the fullest extent of the law”.
At the community meeting, Cal Fire’s Chief Ken Pimlott said the blaze has left 175 families homeless, with an estimated $10 million in damage and an additional $5 million cost to taxpayers for fire suppression.
The Lower Lake fire broke out Saturday afternoon and exploded to almost 5 square miles as it fed on bone-dry vegetation.
In central California, a day-old wildfire burned 20 structures and threatened 150 homes. No injuries have been reported, but pets have died as flames swept into Lower Lake, a small town about 90 miles north of San Francisco.
Pashilk is suspected of starting several fires in Lake County over the past year, including the Clayton Fire, which has burned more than 4,000 acres and destroyed more than 175 structures.
Wilsey said they’re already planning to rebuild, even though the fate of their home remains uncertain.
“A lot of good work was done”, said Paul Lowenthal, a public information officer working the Clayton Fire.
The fire was throwing embers and spreading rapidly because of parched conditions brought on by the state’s historic drought, officials said.
Someone actually SET the Clayton fire in Lake County, unleashing a bad blaze on the area that is still reeling from last year’s Valley Fire and the cops have him in custody.
A pair of large blazes in the 1960s destroyed far fewer homes in the county that had just one-quarter of its current 64,000 residents at the time.
The U.S. Forest Service says the 12.6-square-mile blaze was 100 percent contained Tuesday. It burned more than 2 square miles, but no homes have been lost, and it’s partially contained. Mike McGuire said about last year’s wildfire, which killed four people and destroyed more than 1,300 homes.
In Southern California, forecasters warned of high fire danger due to a heat wave and gusty winds. Underlying it all: A five-year drought that has sapped vegetation of moisture.
In wetter times, the region was not subjected to the kind of wildfires that now batter it.
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Residents have a new view of the wild beauty they’ve always admired. “The trees are handsome, but when they catch fire, they carry fire”. “The helicopter will actually take those polls and from the air set them into a hole in the ground and then our crews will be there to help stabilize those poles”, PG&E spokesperson Lynsey Paulo said. “I didn’t want to leave in case we get an opportunity, I mean if there’s an opportunity for me to get in, I’ll get in there”, he said.
