Officials investigating after “at least a dozen” arson fires sweep through Burney
BURNEY, Calif. — Fire officials today confirmed to SCNS that they are investigating a series of arson fires that have swept through the Burney area over the last week. Officials also confirmed that last night’s apartment fire in Burney was not related to the arson fires and was caused by a faulty attic fan.
Although no injuries or property damage have yet to occur, according to Burney Fire Protection District Chief Monte Keady, at least a dozen arson fires have been set in recent days; including several fires that were set in front of and behind Cal Fire Station 14 in the 37000 block of SR-299E in the unincorporated community of Johnson Park, just west of Burney.
It was not immediately known if the recent arson fires were possibly related to a series of eight arson fires that occurred early Thursday morning, March 4. Those intentionally set fires included a large log deck blaze at a Johnson Park lumber yard on Cottonwood Street and seven additional grass and vegetation fires within a half-mile radius that were set around the same time.
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While saying the investigation is being handled by Cal Fire-Shasta’s Fire Prevention Division arson investigators, Keady said the fires have all been small so far, but were clearly man-made and purposefully set.
In addition to the fires set outside and around Fire Station 14 and several other arson fires that have been set along SR-299E, “Five or six additional fires were set last night near the ‘Welcome to Burney’ sign on the town’s west end, near Sierra Pacific Industries,” Keady told SCNS this afternoon.
Most of the fires have been set in the early morning hours between midnight and 6:30 a.m.; however last night’s fires were reported around midnight, the Chief explained; referring all further questions to Cal Fire-Shasta’s Fire Prevention Division.
Contacted for more information, a Cal Fire-Shasta Public Information Officer was not able to immediately provide any further details.
This is a developing story that will be updated as new information becomes available.
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Contact the writer: [email protected]
Trevor Montgomery, 49, moved in 2017 to the Intermountain area of Shasta County from Riverside County and runs Riverside County News Source (RCNS) and Shasta County News Source (SCNS).
Additionally, he writes or has written for several other news organizations; including Riverside County-based newspapers Valley News, Valley Chronicle, Anza Valley Outlook, and Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle; the Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County; and Mountain Echo in Shasta County. He is also a regular contributor to Thin Blue Line TV and Law Enforcement News Network and has had his stories featured on news stations throughout the Southern California and North State regions.
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.
Trevor’s assignments included Corrections, Patrol, DUI Enforcement, Boat and Personal Water-Craft based Lake Patrol, Off-Road Vehicle Enforcement, Problem Oriented Policing Team, and Personnel/Background Investigations. He finished his career while working as a Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Investigator and was a court-designated expert in child abuse and child sex-related crimes.
Trevor has been married for more than 30 years and was a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and his “fluid family” includes 13 children and 18 grandchildren.
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