UPDATED: CANYON LAKE: Local man arrested, charged with starting blaze that displaced family of four and killed family’s dog

UPDATE: April 5, 11:49 p.m.

CANYON LAKE – Officials have announced the arrest of a man they allege started an April 4 fire at a Canyon Lake residence. A family of four was displaced and their pet dog died during the blaze that destroyed the family’s home in the 23000 block of Canyon Lake Drive North in the city of Canyon Lake.

The fire – the first of two alleged arson-related incidents that both happened within the gated Canyon Lake community over a four-day period – caused “significant damage” and left the home uninhabitable. Authorities quickly determined the fire was purposefully set and began investigating the fire as an arson.

Both incidents resulted in swift arrests.

SEE RELATED: CANYON LAKE: Man arrested after arson-related, attempted murder investigation (Click link to view article about second arson fire and arrest.)

Just one day after the fire, on Wednesday, April 5, Cal Fire law enforcement officers and Riverside County Sheriff’s officials arrested Jeremy Jackson Jones, 21, of Canyon Lake for allegedly starting the fire.

He was booked at the Southwest Detention Center on suspicion of arson to an inhabited dwelling, making criminal threats, residential burglary, cruelty to animals and two arson enhancements.

Officials have not specified what led them to determine Jones was involved with starting the fire.

The investigation into the cause of the fire began after about two dozen firefighters spent nearly two hours battling the residential blaze.

Although fire officials immediately mounted an aggressive attack on the fire and saved about $75,000 in property, Newman estimated the loss at about $400,000.

While firefighters battled the residential blaze, deputies from the Riverside County Sheriff’s Canyon Lake Police Department assisted with traffic and crowd control. At fire officials request, deputies temporarily closed both sides of traffic on Canyon Lake Drive North, from Rim Rock to Lands End.

An online jail records search revealed Jackson is being held on $2 million bail and he is scheduled to be arraigned at the Southwest Justice Center April 7.

The American Red Cross later responded to the scene to assist two adults and two children who were displaced by the fire.

 

ORIGINAL STORY

CANYON LAKE – A family was displaced and their pet dog died during a fire that destroyed a home April 4. The fire, that left the home uninhabitable, happened in the in the 23000 block of Canyon Lake Drive North in Canyon Lake.

About two dozen firefighters spent nearly two hours battling the blaze.

The American Red Cross later responded to the scene to assist two adults and two children who were displaced by the fire.

Emergency first responders rushed to the area just after 4 p.m., after citizens began calling 911 to report the residential blaze.

Twenty-three firefighters from five engine companies and one truck company responded to the residential fire, according to Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire spokeswoman April Newman. They were assisted by four battalion commanders a fire investigator.

“The first arriving Chief Officer reported a working fire in a two-story, single family dwelling,” Newman explained after the fire.

Cal Fire/Riverside County firefighters immediately mounted an aggressive attack on the fire, which one nearby resident, Ted Charles described as “completely out of control,” when they arrived.

“When I smelled the heavy smoke and then saw the fire I was so worried the family hadn’t made it out safely and that someone could have been injured or killed,” Charles said.

While firefighters battled the residential blaze, deputies from the Riverside County Sheriff’s Canyon Lake Police Department assisted with traffic and crowd control. At fire officials request, deputies temporarily closed both sides of traffic on Canyon Lake Drive North, from Rim Rock to Lands End.

Firefighters managed to knock the fire down about 6 p.m.

Southern California Edison and the Southern California Gas Company were summoned to the scene to shut off utilities to the house, which was destroyed by the blaze.

Although fire officials saved about $75,000 in property during the fire, Newman estimated the loss at about $400,000.

Animal Control officials later responded to the scene of the fire to remove the family’s pet that was killed during the fire. Officials did not specify the breed or age of the family pet that died in the blaze.

After the fire was extinguished. fire resources remained at the scene for about two hours for overhaul and mop up operations

No other injuries related to the fire were reported.

 

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Trevor Montgomery runs Riverside County News Source and Shasta County News Source. Additionally, he writes for Riverside County based newspapers, Valley News and Anza Valley Outlook and also writes for Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County.

Trevor spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg and breaking his back in an off-duty accident.

During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations, including Robert Presley Detention Center, Southwest Station in Temecula, Hemet/Valle Vista Station, Ben Clark Public Safety Training Center and Lake Elsinore Station, along with other locations.