The witness said the man had walked off in the direction of where the fire eventually ignited, returning around 10 minutes later.
#Dixie fire man arrested free
He also noticed that on a dirt road 150 to 200 yards from the fire, a man was struggling to free his car, a black Kia Soul, after the vehicle's rear had failed to clear a partially buried boulder.Ī witness told investigators that the man, later identified as Maynard, had arrived several hours before the fire started, court records show. A mountain biker in those remote woods had noticed signs of a fire, called 911 and then worked to limit the fire's spread.Ī Forest Service fire investigator determined the Cascade Fire was likely the result of arson. On July 20, Maynard was spotted near the scene of the Cascade Fire, on the western slopes of Mount Shasta. Maynard also has connections to other schools, from Stony Brook University in New York (where he received his doctorate) to Santa Clara University, where he also taught. His teaching and research, the school said, focuses on topics that include the "sociology of health, deviance and crime" and environmental sociology. If it weren't for the surveillance federal agents were conducting on Maynard, the fires would have been much worse and the risk to firefighters would have been greater, the document said. Maynard's alleged offenses "show that he is particularly dangerous, even among arsonists," the federal prosecutors said. It added, "Maynard's fires were placed in the perfect position to increase the risk of firefighters being trapped between fires." attorney's office in Sacramento said in court papers.
"He entered the evacuation zone and began setting fires behind the first responders fighting the Dixie fire," the U.S. It's one of three fires that officials said Maynard set in recent days - all of them close to the Dixie Fire's northeastern footprint. That blaze broke out on Saturday morning in a remote area where, according to court records, Maynard had just camped for the night. While court documents allege that Maynard is connected to more than a half-dozen dangerous fires in Northern California, he is currently charged with starting only the Ranch Fire. attorney's office in Sacramento told NPR. Maynard's next court appearance is scheduled for Aug.
He added: "Based on that finding, the defendant will be detained as a risk of non-appearance and a danger to the community." Not just once, but over and over again," the government said in a court memorandum arguing for Maynard to be denied bail.Ī judge agreed to that request during a brief hearing Wednesday, saying there are no "conditions or combination of conditions that would provide the necessary level of safety to this community should the defendant be released."
They allege former college professor Gary Maynard is the culprit, citing their tracking of his movements and other evidence.
#Dixie fire man arrested serial
He is charged with starting only the Ranch Fire.įirefighters battling the Dixie Fire have also been facing a second enemy: a serial arsonist who went on a spree of setting fires in July and August - and who sought to trap fire crews with his fires, according to agents from the U.S. The River Fire - which started on Wednesday and has charred 2,600 acres in Nevada and Placer Counties, destroyed 88 homes or other structures - was 30% contained on Friday morning, said Cal Fire Captain Robert Foxworthy.Investigators say they've linked the Ranch Fire, pictured here shortly after its discovery, and other blazes to Gary Maynard, a former college professor. The Dixie Fire is the largest of more than a dozen major conflagrations burning across California this week, spurred by high temperatures and brush left bone dry by years of drought. Roughly 16,000 people were evacuated this week from blazes burning across five counties in the northern part of the state.Ĭalifornia’s five largest wildfires in history have all occurred in the last three seasons, burning more than 2.5 million acres and destroying 3,700 structures.įirefighters, aided by a thick inversion layer blowing inland from the Pacific Ocean, were working to stop the advance of the flames as they moved toward the community of Quincy in Plumas County. California, which typically experiences peak fire season later in the year, was on pace to suffer more burnt acreage this year than last, the worst fire season on record.
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