Suspected arsonist arrested as firefighters continue battling 5,000 ac. Cranston Fire

UPDATE: Thursday, July 26, 5 p.m. With 50 photos and videos

A man suspected of setting a series of wildfires in southwest Riverside County and Federal areas along State Highway 74 in the San Bernardino National Forest was arrested Wednesday afternoon, July 25, according to police and fire officials.

One of the blazes the arsonist is suspected of setting is the massive Cranston Fire, which is continuing to burn on Federal land in the San Jacinto Ranger District. According to Cal Fire officials, the huge wildland fire had destroyed at least five homes. As of 7 a.m. this morning, the blaze had burned nearly 5,000 acres, and is only five percent contained.

See 50 photos and videos below.

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As firefighters continue to mount an aggressive attack against the swift moving blaze, officials have ordered the evacuation of more than 3,000 people and 2,174 homes.

The evacuations have affected the mountain areas of Apple Canyon, Camp Scherman Girl Scout Camp, Cedar Glen, Fern Valley, Hurkey Creek, Idyllwild, Lake Hemet, McCall Park, Mountain Center, Pine Wood, and Pine Cove.

An evacuation center has been set up at Banning High School, at 100 W. Westward Avenue and Red Cross officials are at the scene assisting with those displaced by the fire.

Road closures are currently in effect for Highway 74 from the city of Hemet to Lake Hemet, and along Highway 243 from Banning to the intersection of the 243 and 74.

After an investigation, officials arrested 32-year-old, Brandon N. McGlover, of Temecula. He was later booked into Cois Byrd Detention Center in Murrieta on suspicion of five counts of arson to forest land, five counts of arson to an inhabited structure, and one count of maliciously setting a fire.

Additional charges could be filed at McGlover’s arraignment and online jail records indicate the suspected arsonist remains in custody on $1 million bail.

Early in the fire investigation, officials developed leads and gathered information that led them to issue a “be on the lookout” for a vehicle spotted in the area where one of the destructive fires erupted.

The vehicle was described as a newer white Honda Civic being driven by a Black male and was last seen leaving the area where one of the fires had begun.

About 15 minutes later, shortly after 12:30 p.m. yesterday afternoon, officers and deputies assigned to the Hemet/San Jacinto Valley Gang Task Force were in the area of Newport Rd., west of State St., in Hemet, when they spotted McGlover driving a vehicle that matched the description of the car being sought in connection with the arson fires.

GTF officers requested back up and followed the Honda westbound to a rural area at the end of Newport Rd, near Garnet Lane. Other Hemet PD and CHP officers and a Cal Fire arson investigator quickly converged on the area and detained McGlover without incident.

During a subsequent search of McGlover’s Honda, officials found various fire starting items and accelerants that officials suspect the alleged arsonist used to set the fires.

Word of McGlover’s arrest spread throughout the community like an Internet wildfire, with countless area residents praising law enforcement and fire officials for McGlover’s swift arrest and their ongoing firefighting efforts.

As the blaze continued to grow overnight, Gov. Jerry Brown this morning declared a state of emergency for the communities of Idyllwild, and Mountain Center, as well as other areas affected by the huge blaze.

The fire is “still growing, still burning … we’re throwing everything we can at it,” U.S. Forest Service spokesman Lee Beyer explained, saying that the plan today was to deploy as many air tankers and helicopters in the air as possible to continue attacking the growing blaze.

More than 700 firefighters are now battling the fire, with several helicopters dumping flame retardant and water as the wild fire appears to be moving into less populated areas,

The ongoing Cranston Fire is under Unified Command of USFS San Bernardino National Forest, CAL FIRE/Riverside County Fire Department, Idyllwild Fire Protection District, and the Riverside County Sheriffs Office.

Anyone with additional information regarding McGlover or the Cranston Fire or other area blazes is encouraged to contact Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire at (951) 355-4059. Callers can refer to incident file number 18-CF-286 and can remain anonymous.

This is a developing story that will be updated as new information becomes available.

Click any image to open full-size gallery.

Timothy Franzese/Public Safety Incidents video

Miguel Shannon/OC Hawk News video

Will Whelan/Hemet Valley Incidents video

Kitty Alvarado/KMIR News video

Rob McMillan/ABC7 News video

Firephotogirl video

 

Contact the writer: [email protected]

Trevor Montgomery, 47, recently moved to Shasta County from Riverside County and runs Riverside County News Source and Shasta County News Source. Additionally, he writes for several other news organizations, including Riverside County based newspapers, Valley News, The Valley Chronicle and Anza Valley Outlook, as well as Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County and The Mountain Echo in Shasta 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, breaking his back and suffering both spinal cord and brain injuries in an off-duty accident. (Click here to see segment of Discovery Channel documentary of Trevor’s 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.