Arson arrest in Santa Barbara after seven fires on Modoc Road

A 43-year-old man admitted to starting three brush fires on Modoc Road on Thursday, ahead of a red flag warning. He is also linked to four more fires last weekend.

Seven fires, one suspect: Santa Barbara man arrested on arson charges

Santa Barbara police arrested Calletano Bedolla-Bibiano, 43, on Thursday afternoon on multiple counts of arson after he admitted to setting three brush fires on Modoc Road, according to the Santa Barbara Independent.

Officers responded at noon on 15 October to a brush fire near La Cumbre Junior High School, where city firefighters were already working to contain the flames. Upon arrival, a second fire was found burning nearby, close to Fire Station 5. Both blazes were extinguished by the combined effort of police and fire crews.

A third fire was subsequently discovered approximately a quarter-mile down the road on Modoc, just past Las Positas Road. Bedolla-Bibiano was present at that scene, and police say he admitted to starting all three fires.

Investigators later linked him to four additional fires set last weekend on the 3600 block of State Street, near a Speedway Gas Station, bringing the total to seven fires attributed to the suspect.

Bedolla-Bibiano was booked into Santa Barbara County Jail on Thursday afternoon.

County Fire rated Thursday's fire danger as high, with Santa Ana winds intensifying and a National Weather Service Fire Weather Watch and red flag warning scheduled to take effect Friday morning. Firefighters moved quickly to suppress all three Modoc Road fires before conditions worsened. The SBFD Fire Marshal and investigators arrived on scene to conduct a continuing investigation.

Source: Google News MT — Crime (en)