![]() The special agent said he consulted with the San Jose Police Department, who told him one of Maynard’s colleagues had raised concerns about his well-being in October 2020. Maynard’s license and vehicle registration listed an address in San Jose, but he no longer appeared to be living there, Bolen wrote. “Maynard denied setting any fires and, at one point, stated that if the agents were going to accuse him of starting fires that he would defend himself in court,” Bolen wrote.Īccording to the affidavit, Maynard - upon learning from a deputy that he was being charged with felony arson - “became enraged and began kicking the jail cell door and screamed, “I’m going to kill you, (expletive) pig! I told those (expletive)s I didn’t start any of those fires!” Maynard was arrested by Lassen County sheriff’s deputies after he was found in an emergency closure area near the Conard fire. “It appeared that Maynard was in the midst of an arson-setting spree,” according to the affidavit. ![]() 7, in the Lassen National Forest, Bolen wrote. 5, and the Ranch and Conard fires, which ignited Aug. It placed the car in the vicinity of the Moon fire, which ignited Aug. The fires burned less than an acre and more than 300 acres, respectively.Ī tracker was attached to the Kia during a traffic stop on Aug. The Cascade fire was contained to a 150- to 200-square-foot area, thanks in part to a pair of mountain bikers who stomped along its edge and dug around its perimeter, Bolen wrote.Īccording to the affidavit, tire impressions left by the Kia were similar to those found at the Everitt fire on July 21 and the Bradley fire on July 11 in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest. He also said he believed Maynard was mentally unstable and described him as “mumbling a lot and having bipolar-like behavior.” The next day, Bolen and Murphy interviewed the occupant of the second vehicle, a man who told them Maynard had shown up several hours before the fire and walked in its direction before it ignited. Murphy retreated and snapped a picture of the Kia, which was ultimately linked to several other fires in Northern California. ![]() He told Murphy he didn’t know anything about the fire and “mumbled something about being a professor at a university down south.”Īt one point, Maynard asked Murphy to tow him and became agitated when the request was declined, according to the affidavit. A man later identified as Maynard was trying to free the car. One of the vehicles, a Kia Soul registered to Maynard, was stuck on a large boulder. Forest Service investigators working around the clock to track Maynard, those fires would not have been discovered in their infancy.”Īuthorities first encountered Maynard on July 20 while investigating the Cascade fire in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest, according to an affidavit by USFS Special Agent Tyler Bolen.īrian Murphy, a USFS investigator, found two vehicles parked on a dirt road 150 to 200 yards away from where the fire ignited, Bolen wrote. This story was reported from Oakland, Calif.“But for the dedication and efforts of U.S. The Associated Press contributed to this report. 16 about the equipment and vegetation where the fire started.Ĭooler temperatures and higher humidity slowed the spread of the fire on Sunday, and temperatures topped 90 degrees instead of the triple-digit highs recorded earlier in the week.īut the blaze and its neighboring fires, within several hundred miles of each other, posed an ongoing threat. A federal judge ordered PG&E on Friday to give details by Aug. The Pacific Gas & Electric utility has said it may have been sparked when a tree fell on one of its power lines. The cause of the Dixie Fire is under investigation. One person died in the August Complex Fire and one person died during the Mendocino Complex Fire, according to Cal Fire. MORE: Heightened wildfire conditions to return to Northern Californiaĭespite the magnitude of the fires, there were only two deaths among the top four largest wildfires. The third and fourth largest fires include the Mendocino Complex Fire in July 2018 (459,000 acres) and the SCU Lightning Complex Fire, (396,000 acres) also last August. ![]() By comparison, the August Complex Lightning Fire last August scorched more than a million acres, but that fire was comprised of several fires in the Mendocino and Humbolt county area. ![]()
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