Alma Andrade looks at some of her burned plants and a shed that had tools, children’s clothes and other items as multi-agency fire crews mop up the Clayton fire after structures were destroyed in Lower Lake, Calif., Monday, Aug. 15, 2016.
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Lake County Sheriff Brian Martin says that 40year old Damin Anthony Pashilk who hails from Clearlake, California is behind bars and will be facing charges of 17 counts of arson.
Fire officials announced an arrest late Monday of a man on suspicion of starting a blaze that has raced through a rural Northern California town, destroying more than 100 homes and forcing evacuation of neighborhoods and a hospital.
Firefighters in Northern California are continuing to battle a blaze that has destroyed at least 175 homes and businesses and forced 4,000 people to flee their homes. “So we don’t know what that’s gonna bring to the table today”, Lt. Doug Pittman of Cal Fire told KPIX 5 Monday morning.
ABC 7 reports that Pashilk was born in San Francisco and is a construction worker with a criminal record involving a dozen arrests on drug and weapons charges as well as parole violations. “The residents of Lake County have experienced senseless loss and endured significant hardship over the past year”.
“They’re not letting anybody in, everybody is upset about that, trying to get to their stuff”, Lower Lake resident Adam Alfinda said.
“The community has suffered significantly”, Pimlott added, saying damage from the fire was estimated to have topped $10 million.
By dawn Sunday, the fire had spread to 1,400 acres and four homes had burned.
Governor Jerry Brown has declared a state of emergency in the San Francisco area.
In Southern California, forecasters warned of high fire danger due to a heat wave and gusty winds.
Cal Fire said the fire has scorched 3,000 acres (4.69 square miles) and is five percent contained.
Sherwin says some structures have already burned, but it hasn’t yet been determined whether any of them were homes. “The winery burned – places I’ve known for many years and knew the people who owned these places”, said another resident.
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Highway 1 in central California has reopened after a daylong closure for removal of fire-weakened trees north of Big Sur.
