March 28, 2024
Arson suspected in second inland fire
LAKE ELSINORE – (INT) – For the second time this summer, arson is suspected as the cause of a major fire burning on the fringes of the Inland Empire.

Forrest Gordon Clark, 51, warned "This place will burn" before he allegedly started Monday's blaze in Holy Jim Canyon on the Orange County side of the Santa Ana Mountains.

The Orange County Fire Authority announced Clark's arrest Wednesday and jailed him in lieu of $1 million bail.

Mandatory evacuations are expanding into Riverside County including Horsethief Canyon and Glen Eden. A care and reception center is open at Temescal Canyon High School in Lake Elsinore for residents.

Highway 74 (Ortega Highway) over the Santa Ana Mountains is closed.

The fire’s behavior has become more unruly as a combination of triple digit heat, low humidity and dry fuels in steep mountain terrain have stymied efforts to stop its advance down from the ridge tops.

Air tankers and water-dropping dropping helicopters are the first line of defense.

As the flames move deeper into Riverside County, more homes and buildings are threatened. Twelve were destroyed near the fire's origin in Holy Jim Canyon and Trabuco Canyon in Orange County.

Last month, another fire bug went on a day-long rampage starting several fires in the San Jacinto Mountains. The Cranston Fire covered more than 13,000 acres between Idyllwild and Mountain Center before it could be stopped. Witnesses lead authorities to his arrest in Hemet.
Story Date: August 9, 2018
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