The flames sparked in the grass grew into the Willow fire, which had burned 450 acres and was 30% contained as of Monday morning, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said. After an investigation by CHP, Hogan was arrested for driving while under the influence of a controlled substance and driving with a suspended driver license. The blazes have so far ultimately burned approximately 450 acres of vegetation.
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The incident occurred before 2 p.m.as Hogan was driving eastbound on Mountain Ranch Road in West Point, a small town in Calaveras County, according to a CHP arrest report.
They attempted to speak to Hogan, who did not appear to know that her vehicle was disabled.
The blazes threatened several homes and forced some residents to evacuate.
Cal Fire is filing charges of unlawfully causing a fire which causes an inhabited structure to burn, seven counts of unlawfully causing a fire of a structure or forestland and one count of committing a violation during a declared state of emergency. The driver and others in the community who saw the smoke pulled Hogan from the burning auto and called police. The Butte Fire burned more than 70,000 acres last September. A mandatory evacuation order was issued for the Willow Valley subdivision.
Mountain Ranch Road was closed at Mills Avenue until after sunset and Pacific Gas and Electric Co. said it had to cut off power to more than 1,100 San Andreas-area residents for nearly three hours because of the fire threat and damage to powerlines.
Another driver on the highway saw her vehicle burning and tried to alert her, but she didn’t respond, authorities said. “Another minute and I would have never made it out of the house”.
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Cal Fire planes and helicopters dropped retardant and water on the fire until dusk Sunday.
