Dozens of suspicious fires ignited in Santa Cruz
UPDATE: 10/10/18 7:15 p.m. Santa Cruz Police and Fire officials are investigating more than 20 fires in city limits that have been lit since July.
They say the fires have all been deemed suspicious and think there is more than one person responsible.
They have released surveillance of at least one suspect and are asking for the public’s help in identifying and find other suspects.
Santa Cruz Police Department’s Deputy Chief, Daniel Flippo says, “we’re trying to reach out to the public for any help that they can give us by recognizing where the fires are occurring, time lines of where they’re occurring and then if we can get the public to look out for any suspicious behavior that can help us track down possibly whether someone is being negligent or intentionally setting fires.”
The police department is working with Santa Cruz Fire Department to investigate.
Santa Cruz City Fire Division Chief Jason Hajduk says it’s especially concerning because fire season is far from over.
“We have not had any significant rain fall over an extended period of time. So even though it’s cool and we get into fall and it’s cold nights, everyone thinks Summer is over, what we consider to be fuel in the grass and the brush and the trees hasn’t received any rain. So it’s not wet yet. And so it’s receptive to catching on fire, it’s receptive to carrying fire from one location to another. Historically, October has been one of our most damaging months as far as the scale and the scope of the fires,” says Chief Hajduk.
One home in the Clearview Mobile Home Community was severly damaged from a fire this weekend.
The homeowners say there is at least tens of thousands in damage and they just barley made it out, “as we were wheeling him out the front door the deck was on fire and there were flames coming through the windows,” says Sheilagh Peyton who lives at the home.
Peyton’s husband is a paraplegic and was hooked up to his medical bed at the time of the fire. “”My first thought was I have to get him out of the house and that takes some doing, because he’s connected to all these hoses and has a wound vac on,” says Peyton.
She says the physical damage is not the only impact it has had, “fear of fire, fear of what could happen and how to get out. We’re having a hard time sleeping, both of us.”
If you have any information on any of the fires or if you see anything suspicious investigators are asking you to call police.
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Santa Cruz Police and Fire officials are investigating more than 20 fires in city limits that have been lit since July.
They say the fires have all been deemed suspicious and think there is more than one person responsible.
They have released surveillance of at least one suspect and are asking for the public’s help in identifying and find other suspects.
Santa Cruz City Fire Division Chief Jason Hajduk says it’s especially concerning because fire season is far from over.
KIONS Ashley Keehn will have more at 5 p.m. & 6 p.m.
