CAMINO, Calif. (AP) - A man has been charged with deliberately starting a Northern California wildfire that has shown explosive growth and driven nearly 2,800 people from their homes, authorities said Thursday.
Wayne Allen Huntsman, 37, was arrested late Wednesday in Placerville and booked into El Dorado County Jail, where he was being held on $10 million bail.
Huntsman is charged with one count of arson of forest land for willfully and maliciously setting a fire, according to a criminal complaint. He also faces a special allegation of arson with aggravating factors because the blaze east of Sacramento put a dozen firefighters in serious danger, forcing them to deploy their fire shields. They all escaped unharmed.
District Attorney Vern Pierson declined to say what led investigators to Huntsman, who was scheduled to be arraigned Friday. He also would not comment on a possible motive in the case, saying the investigation was ongoing.
"It's something that's evolving at this point," Pierson said of the probe.
The blaze, which started Saturday, has been fueled by heavy timber and grass that is extremely dry because of California's third straight year of drought.
By Thursday morning, the fire had burned through 111 square miles as winds surged to 25 mph and more than doubled its size overnight, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. It was 5 percent contained.